The Brice Man

In 1995, Jean Dujardin organized his first shows around a character he knew when he was in high school entitled Brice. The latter took himself for someone witty, clever and whose formidable verbal words helped him to maintain respect around him. Dujardin kept him in memory to create an eternal teenager and a dreamy rich kid, fond of surfing who's waiting for his hour glory.

"Brice De Nice" was one of the most profitable movies in 2005 from a commercial perspective. Artistically, well it's another story. The main problem with James Huth's effort or rather Dujardin's (the director contents himself with shooting without the single directing idea and it's the star who holds the reins) is that it has strongly the look of a stretched sketch to make a one hour and a half film. It means that a few jibes can be funny for a short time and it's a mistake to believe they that can be the only reliable supplier of laughter for a thin story. Hello weariness! To flesh out (so to speak) the whole, comes a two-bit subplot in the second half between Clovis Cornillac and Elodie Bouchez and superfluous filler (the sequence in the bank turned into a pseudo musical. By the way, the song "C'est Le Casse De Brice" was bound to be a big hit in France). Even with the adoption of a deliberately schoolboy tone, the whole doesn't take off on the crest of the waves but sinks at the bottom of the sea.

To appreciate "Brice De Nice" is like to appreciate the hilarious sitcom: "Un Gars, Une Fille": in small doses. Besides, Alexandra Lamy has a cameo in Huth's effort. As for Dujardin, he has real actor skills and proved it with his aforementioned shows and the quoted sitcom but also in cinema with "OSS 117: Le Caire Nid D'Espions" (2006), he nearly grabbed the César for French Best Actor this year with this role. But, here, it's not a film he would put on top of his CV. Anyway, teenagers or little demanding viewers will love this one.