CLICHE and unrealistic

I agree that it's not a great film, but I think there are some great things in it (Labrèche's performance is one). But it's a satire, so of course it's exaggerated and unrealistic. I thought a lot of the scenes were very funny (like the one with the PC language, and the motivational speakers at his job). It wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

SPOILER!


I really enjoyed this film, which I just watched. However, the ending really disappointed me. It was just too neat and convenient and easy for him that he had such a wonderful spot to run away to.

Funny criticism.

1) Most movie are unrealistic just by the fact that they squeeze a lot of actions in an hour or so. So they all heavily select.

2) Most incidents are actually real (the people complaining in the stadium).

3) Language police actually exist within the Quebec government.

I think you just failed to understand it. You couldn't even comment on it without using a word that was censored.
Stick to movies that you do understand - not something that makes you think.
Find out where the off-switch is and you won't have to suffer watching movies that other people can enjoy.

I made a new thread. I think you should consider watching the film again, nubbytubby. The style is hysterical realism (I think), and it's not meant to be believable - only thru a style like this can nuances within society be criticized. Here is my post, if you're interested:

shazzy-r/2:47 a.m.:

Didn't expect this movie to be good, but I was really impressed; I'm happy to be Canadian. The ability to criticize Canadian (particularly Quebecois society) while making it entertaining was amazing. The complexities beneath stereotypes (like the negro example) are unravelled to the extent of which I have not seen in film before.

Using the real and fantasy was also very well done. Baudrillard's hyper-reality might be applicable to the medieval getaway scene, which is a fantasy made real, but only through this fantasy can the real be realized (in real life, he has no purpose, doesn't want to fight for his marriage, fantasizes about men being jealous of him and of fighting them off, but only in fantasy can this come true - he goes into jousting and feels worthwhile). Would anyone like to elaborate on Baudrillard? Really want to read what you have to say on this.

I think the recurring theme of imagining being watched while achieving spectacular success (his fantasies) and the need to be successful (his wife) are very important for today's society. This film reminds me of the excellent work of David Foster Wallace, Jonathan Franzen and Guy Debord.

I thought the ending was brilliant... the director emphasizes life becoming art when it is still, hence cutting the apples in silence and contentment is equal to an artist drawing a still life, since they are both examples of a still life, which as this movie portrays, is also a "festive life".

The guy who's hired to be a humor coach in the office says something like "in order to survive in this world, one has to be festive", and although this depletes itself by trying to show humor doesn't exist - it only doesn't exist because the situation is contrived. Instead, this "festivity" is found in the end, in that still life and those festive apples.

Getting rambly... share your thoughts? Especially w/ relation to Baudrillard, DFW, Society of the Spectacle etc.

Movies I found to be similar: Mammoth (which I also enjoyed), Der Brysomme Mannen, Cache. Suggest similar movies?

great reviews. nothin worse than cliches. quebecers love fkn cliches, its their whole life