The Tattoo (1968)

the audience applauded

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

When a movie reunites the greatest and most iconic French actor: Jean Gabin and the funniest and most popular of the day: Louis de Funès, you expect fireworks of laughs resulting from the interactions between these two messieurs, but in the case of "The Tattoo", it's almost on the level of an armadillo's fart. There are a few funny moments popping up here and there, the film had a great visual look and a jazzy score, but its drought of gags makes it one of the least rewatchable De Funès movies… again, there are some good scenes but hey, you can find them on Youtube and life is too precious to endure this, even for the sake of nostalgia.That a film joining two monuments of cinema get so embarrassingly bad has at least one merit, it shows that a good premise doesn't make a good movie, success is never written in advance, and neither was the script actually, which I was surprised to learn was canceled because neither Gabin and De Funès liked it, so it was written on the job, with the shooting. Actually, it's almost a miracle that the film could be made, by the standards of its non-existing script, it is decent. It is even decent by the numbers, the film attracted more than three millions of viewers which is not the best score from Gabin or De Funès but it was still enough to belong to the Top 10 of 1968, it's like the top billing was already a guarantee of success.So it's a case of empty-full glass, induced by a few guilty pleasures. As a matter of fact, the film gets slightly better near the end as you can feel the chemistry growing between the two characters and you enjoy the interactions rather than their importance to the plot, the restaurant scene doesn't add much but it happens to be the most memorable part along with the ice skating, but just when you end the film with the illusion that there was something between Gabin and De Funès, you learn that both didn't get along. Whatever it was, it might explain why this was their last collaboration, and why in the crucial scene where Gabin's character said he started to like De Funès', I couldn't buy it.Gabin wasn't without a comical nature of his own and by overplaying the angry patriarch, he could even be a match for De Funès, but the actor who was known for his tantrums was actually the cooler one and it was difficult to see De Funès playing the supporting role, and it says a lot when his best scenes are without Gabin, one involving the two foreign businessmen and that inspired the IMDb picture of the actor, and a few interesting moments with his wife (who's not Claude Gensac anyway). The rest of the time, De Funès is begging Gabin to give him the tattoo and Gabin spends his time shouting and yelling and screaming, you could tell the pains the screenwriters had to fill the moments. There is a reason why this is not the first title to come to mind when you think of De Funes and Gabin's movies.I'm just into a Gabin's phase and the more I appreciate the actor, the more I see how he and De Funès couldn't match, and I appreciate De Funès, too. They just have too larger-than-life personalities to share the screen in a complementary way, a "lite" version De Funès doesn't work, not when it's mixed with a red-bull version of Gabin. Other scenes are really awkward and according to director Denys de La Pattelière, it's only during the editing that they realized they weren't as good, some bizarre moments involving the African butler made me cringe because they were offensive without being funny, and even what could have been a funny little suspenseful moment was ruined by a rip-off of the Pink Panther theme, that was so outrageous, I hope it was meant as a homage.There's no other thing to say, this is a film to watch on the basis that there are two great actors, for pure historical value, but that's all, both actors made better films, so don't waste your time with this one, the best scenes are on Youtube, and if the director, the writer, and the two main concerned ones didn't enjoy it, why should you?

Enjoyable silly comedy about two obstreperous men who, after long battles full of verbal and physical humour, end up buddies. In an artist's studio, rich Parisian art dealer Félicien Mézeray sees the old soldier Legrain, whose back has a tattoo by Modigliani. This he sells unseen to two American dealers and the rest of the film revolves around his frantic efforts to literally get the skin off the back of Legrain, who is in no hurry. The price Legrain wants is the renovation of his old family home in the country, which turns out to be the huge crumbling castle of Paluel in remote Périgord, while he turns out to be the last and extremely eccentric Count of Montignac.Well photographed with an enjoyable score, the film is really about the interaction of the two stars. Mézeray is a greedy dealer, manic in his chase after this lucrative deal. Legrain/Montignac is cantankerous and erratic but wants his ancient pile restored. The clowning could be enjoyed with the sound off but the dialogue needs some knowledge of contemporary French language and society. One little example which tickled me was when they are in bed together and Mézeray's wife answers him with "As you wish", naturally using the familiar "tu". He tells her she must stop using the familiar singular and must adopt the formal plural, because they are now a household of class. She replies "As you wish", using the formal "vous".

...But come on, it has Mr Funes in it. And as far as this comedian is engaged, it can't get wrong. I can't recall any movie with Mr Louis de Funes, which was not enjoyable. At least to my taste.What is the place of this comedian in cinema? I am sure that he occupies a sky-rocketing place near Mr Charles Chaplin, Mr Buster Keaton, Mr Norman Wisdom, and Mr Benny Hill. He is the master of slapstick intelligent humour with a shade of theatrical quality.Where am I? Oh yes, the film. It is a feast of stupidity. There are a few childish scenes involving "kick-boxing" and "judo". Mr Funes character is running about (as he usually does) for idiotic purposes. Some English-speaking guys are hunting a myth (i.e. a tattoo on human skin) and ready to pay huge amounts of dollars for that. The movie ends abruptly and incoherently. And did they have to throw the ministers into the ditch? But behind all that is the class of Mr Funes who never lets his character "go easy down the slope". He is electrifying and stylish. And that's what I like and respect him for.Advice: take a good DVD copy (like me - with the original soundtrack and the subs in your native language) and if you like old-fashion slapstick you cannot be disappointed. There are better comedies with the comedian ("Fantomas" will perhaps be my all-time No.1) but this one is still good and very bright.Turn off your brain and keep your eyes on Mr Funes and his grimaces - he is hilarious as ever.7 out of 10. Thanks for attention.

The story is a fairly absurd little farce that doesn't really go anywhere, but it's possible to enjoy this as just a goofy buddy comedy with some good, irreverent slapstick. Given the lack of subtitles on the copy I watched, you might want to brush up your French first; the dialogue is fast and idiomatic. I missed a good deal of it.