Didier (1997)
Directed by Alain Chabat

Film Review

A popular actor through his association with the successful comedy troupe Les Nuls, Alain Chabat made his directing debut with this fairly unhinged comedy in which he gets in touch with his inner dog. Despite its fantastic premise, Didier is an enjoyable romp that allows Chabat to play to his comic strengths, doggie style, as he plays a dog reincarnated as a man. Chabat was rewarded not only with healthy box office returns but also with the César for Best First Film. Bouyed up by this success, he went on to direct Astérix et Obélix Mission Cléopâtre (2002), which turned out to be one of the most successful French comedies ever made.

As well as a strong central performance from Chabat (and the even likeable pooch playing his canine other self), Didier also benefits from some lively contributions from his co-stars, particularly the hugely talented Jean-Pierre Bacri.  The plot may be a tad silly but there are plenty of comic situations to keep the laughter mill running, although some of the gags are in appallingly bad taste.

It is perhaps a shame that Chabat religiously avoided getting into any intelligent philosophical issues, such as the relationship between man and beast and what mankind can learn from animals.  Instead, the dim viewer is fed a vitamin-free diet of burlesque comedy and expected to swallow it without comment.  Nonetheless, this is a very entertaining film and some of the film's more ambitious sequences are expertly realised.

Film Synopsis

Football manager Jean-Pierre Costa has his hands full when his friend Annabelle leaves him to look after her pet Labrador, Didier, whilst she jets off to Los Angeles to compile a report.  This is one imposition he could well have done without given the news that is about to come his way.  Richard Guerra, the owner of the local football club, calls him up and lets him know that one of his star players has badly injured himself.  If a replacement cannot be found straightaway Jean-Pierre's job could well be on the line.  It's a well-known fact that trouble always come in threes, so the football manager's next trauma isn't long in coming.

Waking up one morning Jean-Pierre is surprised to find that Didier has miraculously been transformed from a dog into a man.  What begins as a nightmare (try teaching a dog to act as a human) soon reveals itself to be the manager's salvation, as it becomes apparent that Didier, for all his other failings, turns out to be a remarkably adept football player.  Is it possible that he can be trained up to championship standard within a few weeks, thereby saving Jean-Pierre's career and his club from relegation?  He doesn't even bother to ask himself the more obvious question: what if Didier suddenly becomes a dog again...?