Jean Herbert Movies
- 1975
Love turns out to be all in the family in this romantic comedy from France. When an elderly couple decides to marry, their families come together for a wedding banquet that turns into a raucous, wine-soaked celebration. Marthe (Marie-Christine Barrault) and Ludovic (Victor Lanoux) are distant cousins related by marriage who meet for the first time at the reception; they take an immediate liking to each other and resolve that they should see each other more often. Before long, they've become close friends, but their spouses begin to think there's more going on than just good conversation. However, the more people are convinced the two have become lovers, the more the idea of taking their friendship to the next level appeals to them. Marie-France Pisier has a memorably funny "suicide" scene as Ludovic's wife. Cousin Cousine was a surprise commercial success in the United States, where it received several Academy Award nominations and spawned an Americanized remake, Cousins (1989). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marie-Christine Barrault, Victor Lanoux, (more)
- 1973
This extraordinary romp uses no language whatever, except gestures and grunts. When a salt crystal is dropped into a solution of water that contains all the salt it can handle, something extraordinary happens: the swift formation of large crystals of salt from the apparently clear water. When Thesroc (Michel Piccoli) rebels against the dull conformity of his life with flamboyant anarchistic splendor, the whole world quickly goes howling mad. His day starts, as usual, when his mother more-or-less drags him out of bed and kicks him out the door to go to his factory job, which supports them all. At the factory, when he is called onto the carpet, he quits (but not before fondling the boss's secretary). Back at home, he makes love to his sister and then transforms the family's apartment into a more primitive abode. The conditions of the stone-age quickly return. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michel Piccoli, Béatrice Romand, (more)
- 1973
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This comedy concentrates on the mishaps befalling bigoted Frenchman Louis DeFunes. While en route to his daughter's wedding, the outspoken DeFunes accidentally gets mixed up in an Arab nationalist uprising. Through a bizarre and nearly indescribable combination of events, the fiercely anti-Semitic DeFunes is forced to disguise himself as a Rabbi. The sociological statements in Mad Adventures of "Rabbi" Jacob, coscripted by director Gerard Oury, are pepped up with heavy slapstick. Initially titled The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob for its American release, this French film had the "Mad" tag attached when audiences evinced a lack of interest in what was perceived to be a religious picture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Louis de Funès, Marcel Dalio, (more)
Gene Autry gets help from teenage singer Mary Lee and fetching tap dancer Carol Adams in this tuneful Republic songfest restored in 2001 by Gene Autry Entertainment. Autry and sidekick Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette can only watch as gangsters Ralf Harolde and Anthony Warde rob the local bank. The trail leads to Ferris Taylor's riverboat where Gene goes undercover as a country & western singer. On the inside, so to speak, our heroic troubadour quickly learns that the father (Byron Foulger) of girl singer Mary Lee had a hand in the robbery but how will he be able to recover the loot and punish the guilty without causing the naive little Mary undue trauma? When not chasing modern-day gangsters, Autry, Mary Lee, Carol Davis and Smiley Burnette perform no less than eight lively music numbers including the title song and the Academy Award nominated "Be Honest With Me". ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
