Christian Clavier Movies

Based on the original '60s French comic books by René Goscinny, Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre is the big-budget sequel to the 1999 box-office hit Astérix and Obélix vs. Caesar. Empress Cleopatra (Monica Bellucci) makes a wager with Julius Caesar (played by writer/director Alain Chabat) that her people can build a beautiful palace in three months. She chooses architect Numerobis (Jamel Debbouze) for the project, which must be completed in time or he will be fed to the crocodiles. Numerobis travels to Gaul to get help from the superpowered Panoramix (Claude Rich) and the warriors Astérix (Christian Clavier) and Obélix (Gérard Depardieu), along with their faithful pet Dogmatix. They use their magic potion to make the Egyptian slave-labor population into superheroes, thereby building the palace in no time. Meanwhile, the angry architect Amonbofis (Gérard Darmon) and Julius Caesar don't want to see them succeed. At the time of its release, Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre was the most expensive French film ever made, with a budget of $50 million. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

French filmmaker Claude Miller's This Sweet Sickness is based on a suspense novel by Patricia Highsmith, of Strangers on a Train fame. In the original, the murder-protagonist was a psychotic, pure and simple (if such words are appropriate here!) In Miller's version, the "hero," David, is a pathetic creature, motivated by humiliation and sexual inadequacy; thus the emphasis is not on his heinous crimes but on his warped personality. The director's noirish decision to stage much of the action in the dark, or the rain, or both, is a function of David's deep depression. As in his other films, Miller uses water as an omen of evil; you've seldom seen a more foreboding swimming pool than the one in This Sweet Sickness. The film was originally released as Dites-lui que je l'aime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The caustic cartoons of Gerard Lauzier on the condition of the French middle classes are brought to life in this story about a man who longs for the attractions of a bohemian existence. Christian Clavier is Jerome, a married man who romanticizes and envies his actor-friend's lifestyle. When Jerome loses his job he sees a chance to pose as a wayward author and chase after women. To that end, he forgets about his wife and children and launches into the pursuit of parties, fun, and an elusive young woman. Jerome's posturing gets him nowhere, as people take advantage of him right and left, and his situation gets worse as a woman he wants to ditch keeps popping up again like a bad penny. Whatever crude, brash, and brassy intensity Lauzier limns into his drawings is somewhat diluted in this look at his world by director Francois Leterrier. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Lots of people find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, but this comic fantasy takes that notion to a whole new level. Count Thibault of Malfete (Jean Reno) is a brave warrior and respected nobleman in 12th century France. Count Thibault has won the heart of the lovely Princess Rosalind (Christina Applegate) and has a loyal servant in the loyal but half-bright Andre (Christian Clavier). But Thibault's world is turned upside down when an aging wizard demonstrates a new potion that can allow people to travel though time. The concoction works a bit too well, and Thibault and Andre find themselves transported to the year 2000, landing in a museum in Chicago where relics of Thibault's reign are on display. Julia, a museum employee who bears a striking resemblance to Princess Rosalind, finds the visitors and becomes their unofficial guide to life in the Windy City at the dawn of the 21st century. Thibault soon discovers that the young woman is actually descended from his family, and he realizes he has to get back to the 12th century before his absence prevents Julia from existing. Andre also discovers that indentured servitude is no longer common in the 21st century, and he and Thibault have to adjust to the American notion of freedom and equal rights for all. Just Visiting is based on the popular French comedy Les Visiteurs; Jean Reno and Christian Clavier reprise their roles from the earlier film, and the director of the original version, Jean-Marie Poire, also helmed this remake; Clavier and Poire collaborated on the script, as they did for Les Visiteurs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this farcical spoof of spy thrillers, set in France, few obvious or old jokes are left untold, especially if they are at the expense of overweight women, the handicapped, or dogs who don't know where to defecate. The story itself concerns the unsanctioned efforts of a covert unit to gather evidence about illegal arms shipments with the unwitting help of an embassy employee. When it appears that she is about to ruin everything by getting married on a weekend which is important to their operation, project director La Squale (the Shark) (Jean Reno) directs that someone must seduce the woman's fiance so that she'll call off the weekend. Little does he know that the woman chosen is his own girlfriend -- the only one of his agents who is sufficiently thin to be alluring. One thing after another leads to the near failure of the operation -- including the efforts of the repentant fiance (Christian Clavier) to win his girlfriend back. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this crime comedy, Urbain (Christian Clavier) only got married because his wife blackmailed him into it: she was a tax fraud investigator. Since she's divorcing him, and will be entitled to a share of his prefabricated housing business, he's been skimming as much money as he can from it. The business will probably be bankrupt when the divorce goes through, but what does he care? He's got oodles of gold stashed in the walls of a model home mounted on a trailer. He and his beloved and similarly avaricious grandmother (Tsilla Chelton) plan to smuggle them in to Switzerland. Meanwhile, his soon-to-be ex-wife (Catherine Jacob) and his former chauffeur (Philippe Khorsand), who have been lovers for a long time, get wind of the scheme and take up the chase. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Advertising executive Gerard Floque (Roland Giraud) has the worst day of his life in this routine comedy. He comes home after losing his job to find his daughter arrested on drug charges and his wife Cecile (Clementine Celaire) in bed with a famous television personality (Gerard Rinaldi). Gerard finds romantic solace in the arms of his former secretary Martine (Mary-Anne Chazel). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

With comedy sequences that wobble between parody and sentiment, director Marc-Andre Grynbaum has attempted to present the story of a young Jewish man who starts a rock group ("Rock and Torah") and achieves success. That is because he is actually an incarnation of a Biblical patriarch who was once enthused by music more than by the sculpting of holy icons, and for some reason, deserves musical success in modern Paris. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Two men find themselves pulled away from their natures by otherworldly forces in this French comedy. While they're very different people, Antoine Carco (Gerard Depardieu), the owner of a strip club in Paris, and Father Tarain (Christian Clavier), a straight-laced man of the cloth, have one thing in common -- both are followed by guardian angels who guide them and tell them what to do. However, the good father's angel has a wild streak and likes urging him into trouble, while Carco's is very proper and a bit appalled with what he does for a living. When friend of Carco's is killed in Hong Kong, Carco honors the man's last request and flies to Hong Kong to bring his son back to Paris to be with his mother. Carco is also asked to fetch some money from members of the Triads (the Hong Kong Mafia), but this doesn't go over especially well with the mobsters. To insure the boy's safe return, Carco asks Father Tarain, who has been traveling, to take the boy back to Paris for him. The father agrees and takes the boy, not knowing that Carco stashed $40 million in Triad money in the kid's suitcase. Before long, Carso's conscience is bothering him about his recklessness, while Father Tarain's guardian angel is encouraging him to take a walk on the wild side. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Six of France's greatest screen comedians reunite in this long-awaited sequel to the classic box-office hits Les Bronzes and Les Bronzes Font du Ski. Skirt-chasing Popeye (Thierry Lhermitte) has settled down and married beautiful Graziella (Ornella Muti), and together they run an upscale resort hotel in Sardinia. However, Popeye still has his eye on the ladies rather than the bottom line -- he's carrying on with a beautiful young cook -- and Graziella warns him that he has to stop giving free rooms to his old friends. Unfortunately, this edict comes down just as Popeye's pals arrive, expecting a stay on the house. Jerome (Christian Clavier) was making a fortune as a plastic surgeon until a malpractice suit ended his career; now he hopes to reconnect with his former wife Gigi (Marie-Anne Chazel). However, when Gigi shows up it's clear she's also been seeing a plastic surgeon, and has brought along her new beau, upscale wig salesman Jean-Claude (Michel Blanc). And wealthy and smug Bernard (Gerard Jugnot) and Nathalie (Josiane Balasko) arrive with their dog in tow, though their vacation goes through a rough patch when Bernard makes a potentially disturbing discovery about their son. Les Bronzes 3: Amis Pour La Vie (aka Les Bronzes 3: Friends Forever) was directed by Patrice Leconte, who was also behind the camera for the original two films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this light French comedy, Marie and Jerome (Marlene Jobert) and Patrick Chesnais) are a middle aged couple desperate to have a child. They have tried to deal with the official adoption agencies, but the bureaucracies are so hidebound that they'll likely reach their dotage before a child becomes available. Next they try to persuade a pregnant teen to give up her baby, but that doesn't work either. Marie and Jerome are left to resort to more desperate measures. Various well-known French funnymen have cameos, including Romain Bouteille and Christian Clavier. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Victor Hugo's classic story of one man's struggle to redeem himself -- and another man's efforts to bring him down -- is brought to the screen again (there have been at least 18 previous screen adaptations) in this epic-scale television production with a distinguished international cast. Jean Valjean (Gerard Depardieu) is a man forced by circumstance into a life of crime when he steals bread to ease his hunger, ending up behind bars for 19 years. Upon his release, the destitute Valjean attempts to rob the home of a bishop, but the bishop takes pity on him, and Valjean turns over a new leaf, becoming an honest and upright businessman and civic leader. But Javert (John Malkovich), a former guard at the prison where Valjean served time, is now the Chief of Police, and he's determined not to let Valjean live down his criminal past. Les Miserables also features Jeanne Moreau, Virginie Ledoyen, Christian Clavier, and Asia Argento; the miniseries was produced in two versions, a French-language version for European television that ran eight hours, and a four-hour English-language adaptation that was broadcast in a pair of two-hour installments on January 7 and 8, 2001, on the Fox Family Channel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide