Lascars (2009)

This wild and raunchy, adult-oriented animation remained in the Top Ten at the French box office for weeks after its premiere. Recalling the creations of Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic), it actually originated as a Canal Plus television series in the early 2000s that in turn evolved into a comic book before morphing into this feature. In a shoddy, run-down neighborhood at the edge of an unnamed European metropolis, two lowlifes, Joe Hustleton (rapper IZM) and Tony Pepperoni (Vincent Cassel), devise a couple of wild schemes to reel in enough money to land a vacation to sunny Santo Rico island. Each man adopts a unique approach: Joe decides to sell five kilos of cannabis that he picked up on credit from slimeball dealer Zoran (Gilles Lellouche), but if he doesn't pay the principal back in a reasonable amount of time, he's had it; Joe opts for a more straitlaced approach (so to speak) by simultaneously building a sauna at the palatial home of rich judge Nomercy (François Levantal) and guarding the man's house during his vacation -- a job that leads to enormous complications given Joe's serious yen for Nomercy's sexy daughter Clemence (Diane Kruger of Inglourious Basterds). Meanwhile, a number of unsavory supporting characters pop up, including a couple of porno directors, a possessive girlfriend, and two hoods who must hide out in a swimming pool when their plans to get to Santo Rico fall through. The French title, incidentally, is a slang word for blacks with only mildly derogatory connotations. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi