Kad Merad Movies

Recalling such prior efforts as the American farce Jungle 2 Jungle (1997), Gallic writer-director Olivier Baroux's coarse comedy Safari travels into the heart of darkest Africa, where a group of motley and eccentric travelers follow a shifty tour guide, gambler Richard Dacier (Kad Merad) on a journey through the jungle. En route, they encounter an array of nefarious types, including arms dealers, porn addicts, and misogynistic natives who debase their wives. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A man born and raised on France's Southern coast is exiled to the Northern territories in this comedy from actor, director and screenwriter Dany Boon. Philippe Abrams (Kad Merad) helps run the post office in a picturesque small town in the South of France. Philippe's wife Julie (Zoe Felix) has been down in the dumps, and he thinks one way to lift her spirits would be to relocate to the more glamorous surroundings of the Cote d'Azur. However, Philippe's attempts to finagle a transfer fail, and he ends up demoted -- he's sent to Bergues, a village in Northern France stuck between Belgium and England. Philippe is appalled at the news, and matters only get worse when he has to learn the local dialect, a strange bouillabaisse of French, Flemish and Latin dialects. Julie opts to stay behind, and as Philippe drowns his sorrows in beer on his first night in town, he nearly runs over a man while driving home drunk -- who turns out to be one of his new colleagues at the post office, Antoine Bailleul (Dany Boon). But Philippe finds to his surprise that he enjoys life in Bergues, and he becomes infatuated with Annabelle (Anne Marivin), a beautiful letter carrier. Philippe is pondering just what he should do about his feelings for Annabelle when he gets word from Julie that she's decided to join him in the unfashionable North. Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis was a major box office success in France, grossing over $80 million in little more than a month in theaters. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A movie fan finds a way to make himself a presence in the lives of his favorite actresses in this comedy from French writer-director Laetitia Colombani. Robert Lepage (Kad Merad) is a janitor who is part of the cleaning crew at the offices of the biggest talent agency in Paris. Ordinarily, this job wouldn't offer many perks, but Robert is clever enough to know what to look for while he's vacuuming or emptying waste baskets, and he's able to swipe invitations to major events and pencil himself onto guest lists for show-biz soirees. Robert's longtime girlfriend (Maria de Medeiros) doesn't think much of his double life, but he's having enough fun that he starts adding his own thoughts to paperwork at the office, and begins using his skills to boost the careers of his favorite stars -- classy veteran actress Solange Duvivier (Catherine Deneuve), sultry siren Isabelle Serena (Emmanuelle Beart) and promising starlet Violette Duval (Melanie Bernier). Thanks to Robert's meddling, Solange, Isabelle and Violette are cast together in a big-budget costume epic, but when he becomes a regular visitor to the set, the actresses begin wondering among themselves who he is and how he became such a big shot. Mes Stars Et Moi (aka My Stars) received its North American premiere at the 2008 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When wealthy and divorced tech company president Lucas becomes hopelessly smitten by the beautiful artist he has hired to paint a fresco for his enormous office building, he hires a private detective to discover why such a lovely and talented woman is still single. While Roland is a seasoned private investigator who only uses the latest technology in observing his subjects, he must be especially cautious in this case since getting discovered wouldn't bode well for his powerful client. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

French director Pierre-François 'Pel' Martin-Laval's romantic comedy Try Me opens with the gentlest of promises: at 9 years old, Yves-Marie proposed to his childhood sweetheart, Jacqueline. She accepted, on the sole condition that he become an astronaut and chart the heavens. He kept his vow; she forgot hers. When Yves-Marie (Laval) waltzes back into Jacqueline's (Julie Depardieu) life as an adult , then, with the news of his astronaut career, and expects to sweep her off her feet, he is horrified to discover her pending engagement to another man, Vincent (Kad Merad). Not one to be daunted, Yves-Marie then convinces Jacqueline to "try him out" for a day, prior to following through on her marital commitment. Surprisingly, Vincent agrees - for it will give him a chance to slip off on a hunting trip and enjoy one more day as a "meat-eater" before marrying vegetarian Jacqueline. Unfortunately, Yves-Marie's nutty father (Pierre Richard) isn't far behind his son and Jacqueline, and in doing his best to help, makes the pivotal day infinitely more complicated for the former sweethearts. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The unexpected disappearance of her troubled brother causes a nineteen year-old girl intense emotional distress as French filmmaker Philippe Lioret collaborates with author Oliver Adam to adapt Adam's popular novel for the screen. Upon returning from Barcelona after spending the summer with new friends Lea (Aissa Maiga) and Thomas (Julien Boisselier), Lily (Melanie Laurent) discovers that her twin brother Loic (Mickael Trodoux) has fled the family home following a particularly intense confrontation with family patriarch Paul (Kad Merad). When Loic fails to return Lily's increasingly desperate calls and her parents continually fail to explain the reasoning behind her brother's flight, the troubled girl lapses into an alarming emotional malaise in which she is unable to eat or sleep. Her health rapidly failing, Lily is admitted into a local hospital where she languishes until a letter arrives from her brother condemning the pair's father for ruining their lives. Upon recovering from her malady Lily sets out to locate her brother. It is a quest that will not only provide Lily with a better understanding of her faltering family dynamics, but set her down the path to womanhood as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

French producer and musician Christophe Barratier makes his directorial debut with the drama Les Choristes, inspired by the 1947 film La Cage aux Rossignols. Wildly successful orchestra conductor Pierre Morhange (Jacques Perrin) returns home when his mother dies. He recollects his childhood inspirations through the pages of a diary kept by his old music teacher Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot). Back in the late '40s, little Pierre (Jean-Baptiste Maunier) is the badly behaved son of single mother Violette (Marie Bunel). He attends a dreary boarding school presided over by strict headmaster Rachin (François Berléand). New teacher Mathieu brightens up the place and organizes a choir, leading to the discovery of Pierre's musical talents. Featuring performances by Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc Choir. Les Choristes was shown at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

French filmmaker Eric Lartigau directs the anarchic buddy comedy Bullit and Riper, originally released as Mais qui a tue Pamela Rose? French comedic television stars Kad Merad and Olivier Barroux are both the protagonists and the screenwriters. As a parody of Hollywood cop films, the story is set somewhere in the American Midwest as fabricated by the French. After losing his regular partner, FBI agent Richard Bullit (Merad) gets assigned to the book-learned cop Riper (Barroux) to investigate the death of a stripper. American movie stereotypes abound, such as shock jock Phil Canon (Gérard Darmon) and sheriff Steve Marley (Jean-Paul Rouve). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide