Les rois du gag (1985) User Reviews

"Ah-ah-ah" on the "ah-ah-ah-ah-ah" scale !

[thegreatswan · 6/10 · 13 May 2005]

I'm known to laugh quite easily, and "Les rois du gag" is a perfect example of something which is not the funniest movie in the world, but which I like.

Two young brothers-in-law, Paul and François, are trying to succeed as gag-men in a Paris suburb theater, living with only a few money, hoping for fame. In the same time, the famous entertainer Gaëtan, TV star, is living many issues : his shows are not as successful as they used to be, his wife is always complaining about his jokes... He decides to hire new gag-men to give some youth to his career... Paul and François will be the ones.

But just when the new show is on air, a famous mad director wants Gaëtan to be the star of his new, crazy and indescribable movie. What will choose Gaëtan : staying the old clown he always was, or becoming a "real" actor ?

Many scenes in the movie show the gag situations : I recommend the one with the dog and the french baguette, and the whole restaurant scene ! The movie is quite funny, you'll have many laughs, but I'm afraid you won't burst as you do when you watch..."Hot Shots". But it's worth a shot.

Les rois du gag - The gagging business according to Claude Zidi

[eightylicious · 6/10 · 27 March 2022]

In the 80's, Claude Zidi was one of the most commercial directors in France, even winning a César for best director with the excellent "Les ripoux", starring Thierry Lhermitte and Philippe Noiret. It was with the former that her made, a year later, the comedy "Les rois du gag", an incide look at the world of comical cinema, by a director who certainly knew who to make it.

Claude Zidi had tried his hand again at comedies showing the world of cinema with "L'animal" (1977), which showed the adventures of a couple of stunt artists, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo and Raquel Welch. In "Les rois du gag", we follow the antics of two brothers, Paul (Gérard Jugnot) and François (Thierry Lhermitte), who work as a duo under the name of "Gagsters". In one of their shows, they meet the famous comedian Gaëtan (Michel Serrault) and create a trio. It is through this trio that Gaëtan becomes even more known and is offered the lead role in a play by a great director (also played by Serrault, parodying Orson Welles). It is now in his hands to decide which career to choose.

Claude Zidi offered with "Les rois du gag" a well-executed comedy. His direction is satisfactory, fast-paced enough to carry the plot, but it is through his actors'talent that the movie becomes a good comedy. Both Lhermitte and Jugnot had been members of the theatre troupe Le Splendid some years before the movie, showing great comedic talent in its performances and films. "Les rois du gag" was one of the films they played in, when they were still trying to cement their career as solo actors. Their performances here were great, Jugnot's neurotic character perfectly contrasting with Lhermitte's more reserved hero. Stealing the show - not for the last time- was Michel Serrault, who portrayed both of his characters with an ironic tone that served him well. Especially his parody of Orson Welles was hilarious to watch, maybe a statement of him and Zidi about the often pretentious nature of the so-called "greats of the cinema".

The topic of the film - comedic actors often deciding to change their image by playing in acclaimed directors' films - was actually very common in the French movie business during the 80's, with popular actors such as Gérard Depardieu, Sophie Marceau, and Christophe Lambert starting their careers with comedic roles, only to move to more serious films later on. Three of France's most popular actors, Philippe Noiret, Claude Brasseur and Pierre Richard also make cameos in the film during a scene showing the César ceremony, where Gaëtan beats them all, taking the prize for best actor.

The film is extremely commercial in character, overtly supporting simple comedies rather than auteur films, something that can be attributed to the fact that not even Zidi himself was ever appreciated by critics. For him, the audience mattered, and they responded.

The audience's respond to "Les rois du gag" was, as often for Zidi's films, positive, and he deserved it, up to some extent. Even if the film isn't as laugh-out-loud funny as the poster makes us believe, it is still a pleasant comedy, typical of its genre. It must be said, though, that Lhermitte and Jugnot have made better films than that. "Les rois du gag" cannot be considered Splendid by these standards.

Will not be funny to everyone...

[oulalaprod · 8/10 · 16 August 2014]

... for the simple reason that it is a film heavily satirising a very specific type of TV shows and their personalities from a very specific era in France. So if you weren't around France in the 80's, you might laugh at some of the gags, but you won't get the 2nd or 3rd degree ones.

This is really a pity, because this is for me a cult film, which clearly inspired a lot of very funny ads, TV shows and even movies in the following decades, not only in France but also in Hollywood.I have seen many of these gags re-hashed in many formats, to this day.

It will make you cringe in places, but the characters are endearing, the ideas are wacky and the pace is enjoyable. But this is definitely one for the frenchies between 35-70 years old who love their jokes crass and their humour dark.