Ah! Si j'étais riche (2002) Directed by Gérard Bitton, Michel Munz
Comedy
aka: If I Were a Rich Man
Film Review
Having scripted the two popular Vérité si je mens films, writers
Gérard Bitton and Michel Munz made their directorial debut with this unashamedly
commercial French film comedy. Despite a few promising script ideas and an attractive
cast, the film doesn't achieve its full potential, and the lack of ideas in the
second half is painfully noticeable. Still, the film is entertaining, with several
well-realised and very funny comic situations (although in retrospect most of the jokes
are somewhat obvious and a few are actually rather offensive). The lead actors (Darroussin,
Tedeschi and Berry) are clearly worth much more than the material they are lumbered with,
but, despite this, and the stereotypical casting (sympathetic loser, sad female loner
and nasty womaniser... again), their contributions give the film the colour, weight and
energy that is lacking in the script.
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Film Synopsis
Try as he might, Aldo Bonnard cannot make enough money as a salesman to pay
off his mountain of debt. To make matters worse, his wife Alice walks
out on him and begins an affair with his boss, Gérard. Just
when Aldo has given up his luck suddenly takes a turn for the better.
He wins ten million euros on the national lottery - a fact he intends to
keep from his wife until after they have been safely divorced. In the
meantime, he gets himself dismissed and begins to live the life of a rich
man. Aldo finally has an idea to get even with his former boss...
Cast:Jean-Pierre Darroussin (Aldo),
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (Alice),
Richard Berry (Gérard dit Gégé),
François Morel (Jean-Phil),
Héléna Noguerra (Priscille),
Tony Gaultier (Morillon),
Zinedine Soualem (Kader Benhassine),
Didier Flamand (M. Agénor),
Aurélie Boquien (Madame Benhassine),
Darry Cowl (M. Sylvain),
Frédéric Bouraly (Elvis),
Marie Agnès Brigot (L'aide soignante),
Alexandre Caumartin (Le vendeur de montres),
Gérard Chambre (L'avocat),
Gérard Darier (Josselin),
Caroline Dattner (Geneviève),
Thomas Derichebourg (Le jeune commercial),
Jean Dujardin (Le vendeur de chaussures de luxe Weston),
Philippe Duquesne (Bergeron),
Alain Floret (M. Louis)
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 105 min
Aka:If I Were a Rich Man
The best of American film noir
In the 1940s, the shadowy, skewed visual style of 1920s German expressionism was taken up by directors of American thrillers and psychological dramas, creating that distinctive film noir look.
It was American film noir and pulp fiction that kick-started the craze for thrillers in 1950s France and made it one of the most popular and enduring genres.
A wave of fresh talent in the late 1950s, early 1960s brought about a dramatic renaissance in French cinema, placing the auteur at the core of France's 7th art.