20 ans d'écart is the prototype of the not fully achieved French comedy, where the premise is rather interesting but doesn't go the distance.
Indeed, the script first sets in a very efficient and rather dynamic way the base of the plot, with a few touches of humour perfectly spicing up the dialogues. But unfortunately, the more the movie goes, the more you realise the writers didn't quite know where to go. The pace drops, the lines become less incisive, and the story struggles to get a second wind until the happy ending.
Overall, the movie is too conventional and doesn't exploit enough its comical resources. The characters lack depth but the duo of actors works well even though Niney overacts a bit, probably due to how his character was written.
Everything isn't to be thrown away therefore, far from it, but with a little more ambition, this could have been a good to very good comedy.
Indeed, the script first sets in a very efficient and rather dynamic way the base of the plot, with a few touches of humour perfectly spicing up the dialogues. But unfortunately, the more the movie goes, the more you realise the writers didn't quite know where to go. The pace drops, the lines become less incisive, and the story struggles to get a second wind until the happy ending.
Overall, the movie is too conventional and doesn't exploit enough its comical resources. The characters lack depth but the duo of actors works well even though Niney overacts a bit, probably due to how his character was written.
Everything isn't to be thrown away therefore, far from it, but with a little more ambition, this could have been a good to very good comedy.