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FESTIVALS Greece

Les Gamins has world premiere in Athens

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- A situation brom-com that’s built to please, this Meet the Parents a la francais made its debut at the opening gala of the French Film Festival in Greece

Starting off by hitting all the familiar notes of a boy meets girl romance, Anthony Marciano’s feature Les Gamins [+see also:
trailer
film profile
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rushes through the stages of a young couple's relationship from first kiss to golden band, to get you straight to heart of its main course.

Setting itself up as an unconventional French version of Meet the Parents, the film focuses heavily on the relationship between the soon-to-be father- and son-in-law, taking its cue from the recent Hollywood craze of 'bromances'. Max Boublil’s starry-eyed future groom who’s willing to give up his dream for the woman he loves, is contrasted with Alain Chabat’s hapless, weary marriage veteran who’s sick to death of wasting his time on the couch watching TV, while his wife cooks up ways to spend his savings on dubious charity schemes for third-world countries.

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A boys-only evening in town is enough to remind the married man what freedom tastes like, pushing Chabat’s character down the slippery slope of mid-life crisis. Feeling he’s had a second chance in life, and with a load of cash to spend on it this time around, he recklessly sets off to relive his teenage years, all the while making sure he rescues his new best friend from the biggest mistake of his life: marrying his daughter.

Boublil’s character soon figures that compromise’s sour aftertaste might not be worth the gain of co-existence, and he’s taken in by his mentor’s excitement at rushing into new experiences like barking dogs chasing cars. As is to be expected of a film that sets the bar of romantic relationships at the basic dramatic motif of rise, fall and comeback, things go just about as wrong as is necessary for them to realize they need to mend the things they’ve cracked before they break beyond repair, making for a breezy third act that neatly ties loose-ends end signs off with a friendly reminder that boys can be boys, as long as girls can be their mothers.

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