Review of Oscar

Oscar (1967)
7/10
Diverting and attractive French farce with the great Louis De Funes
24 June 2021
Neurotic and depressed businessman : Louis De Funes receives a visit from his own company , an office clerk : Claude Rich asking him for marrrying his beautiful daughter . But Funes wants to find the right husband for his pregnant daughter.

The storyline is sharp , if formulaic but the movie suffers from being extremely stagy . This amusing farce results to be a stunning comedy in screwball style , with a number of messes , misunderstandings, disorder , confusion , breathless set-pieces , though with no sexual tension . A family film without vulgarity , but clean, plain and simple humor . The centre of this deliciously convoluted comedy plot involves mislaid suitcases and never-laid suitors . Here stands out the magnificent Louis De Funes, as always he's a total show , as he puts strange gestures, twisted faces , mimes, and lots of gesticulation . Funes got his greatest hits in the Sainz Tropez Gendarme series , including as follows : the first "Le Gendarme de Saint Tropez" 1964 , "Gendarme in New York" , "Gendarmes and the creatures of outer space" , "Gendarme in Balade" , "Gendarme and the Gendarmettes" . Being accompanied by Claude Gensac who collaborated in five movies as Funes' wife . Along with likeable secondaries as Mario David, Paul Preboist , Roger Van Hool , among others . It had an American remake in 1991 by John Landis with miscast Sylvester Stallone , Ornella Muti , Kirk Douglas , Peter Riegert , Vincent Spano , Marisa Tomei .

The motion picture was competently directed by Edouard Molinaro who orchestrates the action with military precision, injecting life into the proceedings . Molinaro was a good French filmmaker who directed all kinds of genres with penchant for Comedy , as he made "Beaumarchais the Scoundrel", "Just the Way You are" , "Dracula Father and Son" , "Ravishing Idiot ," Back to the Visit" and his big hit : "La Cage Aux Follies" that had an American remake as well . Rating : 7/10 . This is one of the best Louis De Funes vehicles , giving a real recital in his peculiar style . If you like Funes' overacting , you'll enjoy this one. Better than average . Well worth seeing .
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