Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Tim Johnson I was, initially, unsure of just what to say about this delightful French film but after reading the viewer comments I decided that my opinions are as valuable as some of the film cognoscenti who have offered less than enlightening thoughts about The French Kissers. No, I do not believe the film is trite; I do not believe the film has covered ground visited more thoughtfully by other films and I do not believe that it is over stated. Of course coming of age films must, of necessity, deal with similar topics as do other films in this same genre but I do not believe that this film can be disparaged for doing so. The elements of the film are recognizable by any person old enough to have already passed through this awkward adolescent period in our personal history, degree obviously will vary and to see a French take on this passage is hugely interesting. The situations exposed throughout this not so gentle film are familiar to all of us and therefore open to our individual memories of our own passage and this is the beauty of The French Kissers, it allows the viewer to look inside lives of people going through the same adolescent trauma but seeing it in a very, at least for me, different society. As rough as this film was, it still presented situations for which we all could relate. I found it a wonderful knowing film that should be seen.

Likes_Ninjas90 In Brittany, France, Herve (Vincent Lacoste) and his best friend Camel (Anthony Sonigo) are two horny adolescent teens who are flunking their high school classes. Rather than studying they are too busy thinking about women and wanting to get laid. Yet they are both so inept and socially awkward that they have little luck with any of the girls they pursue. They are also picked on regularly by the more popular bullies. Herve, whose father is away supposedly in the army, struggles with his meddling mother, who is not shy to ask him personal questions. Despite his poor social skills, Herve is eventually greeted by a girl named Aurore (Alice Trémolière), who sees something in him and they start a relationship.Riad Sattouf's first film as a writer and director is like the French version of American Pie. As with that movie, this is yet another comedy and coming of age film that explores an adolescent's fixation with sex. Herve and Camel regularly spy on their neighbours having sex, imagine themselves with the most beautiful girls in their classes and pleasure themselves with magazines. Some will suggest that this film is truthful to the years of an adolescent. To an extent it might be, but this is a film that begs the question as to when truth becomes a cliché, as countless other films have explored the same behaviour in more subtle, meaningful and original ways. This is a crude and juvenile film that takes these issues for laughs and only in the most superficial manner. Seeing The French Kissers recalls the indie comedy-drama Thumbsucker (2005), a superior film that also focused on adolescent behaviour. It rarely overstated the teenage interest in sex and its dopey adolescent protagonist was characterised with moments of frustration, highs and low, strengths and weaknesses. It felt like a finely realised visualisation of some of the most difficult times in growing up.The two characters in this film though are so devoid of any redeeming qualities and substantial development that by the end some will be begging Sattouf to give them some dignity. They are hopeless in every aspect of their lives. They are idiotic, lazy, selfish, socially awkward and interested in little beyond sex and music. Both of the boys, though through no fault of their performances, are less credible than they should be because their roles have been written more like caricatures, coming straight from the handbook of bad adolescent behaviour. They channel every cliché imaginable for the nerdy teens, right down to playing games of Dungeons and Dragons. The credibility of the main relationship between Herve and Aurore is also strained because one has to question what exactly she sees in him. For his apparent obsession with sex, he initially does not seem the least bit interested in talking to her. Most disappointingly, the repetition of masturbation jokes grows very tiresome after a while and minimizes the number of laughs in the film. Some might enjoy this brand of gross out humour but others will surely find it particularly unfunny and unintelligent.Domestically, The French Kissers has been a huge hit. Yet for Western audiences the issues explored in this film are likely to be overly familiar given that so many funnier and more intelligent films have dealt with the same concepts. If the characters had more qualities to evoke our sympathy for them, this could have been a more engaging and personal story, but at best it's rather hollow and two dimensional. For the debut of Sattouf it is not a terrible film, just one that shows his immaturity, most specifically, as a screenwriter.

LoneWolfAndCub This comedy is easily comparable to the recent American teenage sex-romps, especially the American Pie series, however, at the same time it is a totally different movie. American Pie, as funny as it was, was not witty or intelligent. The French Kissers, directed by first-timer Riad Sattouf, is very funny, but also an accurate representation of what teenage boys experience in high school. Although not all just think of sex, all are curious. This movie follows Herve (Vincent Lacoste) and his best mate Camel (Anthony Sonigo) as they deal with bullies, homework, family, hormones and the girls they so long desire. There is no solid plot, rather, it is a disjointed series of events that happen during a year that summarise a hectic time for teenagers. Relationships are lost and started, tests and asssignments are forgotten about till the last minute, parents pry into their child's sex life, and friends hang out and talk about their latest fling or sexcapades.What I find makes this movie so good is the performances of the actors, who instill such life into their characters. Lacoste is incredibly funny as the nerdy guy with low self-esteem, but whose hormones are constantly raging. Sonigo is just as funny as the heavy metal loving, mullet wearing best friend who longs for the most beautiful girl in the school. Alice Trémolière and Julie Scheibling are fantastic as Aurore and Laura, the two girls who Herve and Camel lust after with varying degrees of luck. One last mention should go to Noémie Lvovsky as Herve's mother, who never stops prying and loving her son. Honestly, her character was so believable not just because Lvovsky was so good, but I can relate as my mother was a lot like her. Which brings me the screenplay, which is great as it brings a sense of realism to all the proceedings. Nothing is too far-fetched in this movie, which brings it above most American comedies of this nature.The soundtrack is excellent, and of course, Sattouf's direction is excellent. Yes, this is a very crude movie, with the majority of it being about sex and the various other activities a couple may get up to. Not everyone will enjoy it, the constant talk of masturbation, sex, french kissing (hence the title), and porn will put off people who do not feel comfortable with those subjects. But at the film's heart is a touching story of slowly discovering one's self, and thankfully Sattouf does not resort to sappiness and sentimentality with this theme. Unlike the many American comedies which end neatly with everything returning to normal, this ends in a way which mirrors how high school can really be (but I'm not going to spoil that here).4/5

ASSIOMA Simon (doomgen_29) First off, let me point out that this movie is by no means a french halfassed version of "super bad" (which I do love)or "American Pie", not that this movie is better (well actually it is way better than "American pie"!), it's just different, it's almost documentary style, but not as much as "The class", by the end of the movie, which is quite wonderful, because it miraculously mixes the bleakness of men's condition and the natural optimism and resilience of a young man who knows he has his life in front of him, you care for the characters, you hurt with them, way more than in American movie I've seen recently about similar subjects. I think the reason why is the sincerity of the director, who tackles every subjects, such as every day racism, misogyny, masturbation, the relationship between a adolescent and their parents, with a candour that would be deemed unacceptable by American audiences, anyway I guess. So this movie is extremely funny, the hero even has a Micheal Cera quality to him, but with less mannerisms, and it's impossible not to identify with the two main characters. So in conclusion,it is both a funny, beautiful and deeply nostalgic film about the transformation of a child into a man, if you will. Try not to miss it, but unless you live in France...well, wait for the DVD then !