La Folle histoire de Max et Léon (2016)
Directed by Jonathan Barré

Film Review

La Folle Histoire de Max et Léon marks the feature film debut of Grégoire Ludig and David Marsais, a comedy double act who rocketed to fame through their Palmashow, originally broadcast on the internet, then on the subscription television channel D8.  This is the latest in an ever-exanding list of French comedies set during WWII, which began with the box office hit La Grande vadrouille (1966) starring Louis de Funès and Bourvil, and enjoyed a revival in the mid-1980s with Jean-Marie Poiré's Papy fait de la résistance (1983).  The film was directed (with more gusto than obvious ability) by Jonathan Barré, who previously directed the comedy duo in episodes of their series Very Bad Blagues, which ran to 192 episodes and was first broadcast in 2011.

Given that Ludig and Marsais' style of comedy is supposedly 'with it' it's surprising that for their big screen debut that should have chosen such a well-worn subject, inviting unfavourable comparisons with the original Gérard Oury classic.  The duo's big problem is coming up with a comedy premise that is capable of lasting more than five minutes, and so their film resembles a long series of short sketches (some hilarious, others unimaginably crass) that fails spectacularly to add up to anything even vaguely resembling a coherent whole.  The duo's present popularity (together with guest appearances from well-known actors such as Christophe Lambert, Kad Merad, Dominique Pinon and Florence Foresti) ensured that the film had sufficient profile to become a moderate success at the box office (it attracted over 1.2 million spectators).  Sporadically amusing though it is, La Folle Histoire de Max et Léon struggles to make it as a feature-length entertainment, and it certainly isn't a patch on Ludig and Marsais' far better and far more original TV work.

Film Synopsis

Max and Léon are two inseparable friends whose sole aim is to get as much fun out of life as they can.  Unfortunately, it is September 1939 and the world seems to have given up on the idea of fun.  Before they know it, the two men have been drafted into the French army and have no choice but to join in with the latest bout of international blood-letting.  Against all the odds, they prove themselves to be heroes in Syria, and their reward is to be sent back to France, to take part in a spying mission behind enemy lines that could well earn them a place in history...