Pourquoi pas nous? (1981)
Directed by Michel Berny

Film Review

Director Michel Berny devoted most of his career to French television but he made two notable films for the cinema, Les Grands sentiments font les bons gueuletons (1973) and Pourquoi pas nous? (1981).  The latter is a zany romantic comedy which presumably had its origins in the Beauty and the Beast fairytale, with Aldo Maccione playing Beast to Dominique Lavanant's Beauty (although some might argue it was the other way round).  Maccione began his acting career in Italy before becoming a star of French cinema in the 1970s, and Lavanant initially found fame as part of the comedy troupe Le Splendid, along with Gérard Jugnot, who also shows up in the film.  Pourquoi pas nous? would have been a silly affair without two actors as well-matched as Maccione and Lavanant - they bring not only humour to the film (by the cartload) but also some genuine human feeling.  At a time when good comedies were very few and far between in France, this oddball rom-com was certainly a welcome treat.

Film Synopsis

Cromagnon is a loathsome wrestler when he is in the ring, an ape-like brute that people love to hate, but in real life he is as gentle as a lamb and wants only to be loved.  Alas, he is too shy, too concerned about his appearance, and it looks as if he will never find the woman of his dreams.  What could he possibly have in common with Jacqueline, a fussy librarian who lives by herself?