Tanguy (2001)

Dreadfully Boring

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

an ordinary problem of XXI century as subject of a nice French comedy. good actors, seductive situations, the fight to impose to your son to start be independent, out of the comfort of his childhood home. the only problem - Tanguy is too quite to be the bad guy and, in a society of Peter Pan syndrome, the ironic portrait of a nice boy- young man does him almost a hero. Tanguy uses same clichés of French cinema who, after decades, are the key of success. Sabine Azema and Andre Dussollier are victims of the same image of angry parents looking impose to the son the need of assume of real life.Eric Berger uses same traits of charming young man who has his person, too precise vision about existence, mixture of passion for exotic domain and sentimental affairs. so, nothing surprising.

I watched this movie with so much hope! Dussollier, Azéma, beautiful Aurore Clément (from "Demain on déménage (2004)"), J. P. Rouve and many others, like always charming Delphine Serina (Avocats + associés) and a topic I am fond of paved the way for a killer Saturday night movie. I suppose that if you dislike the "philosophical grounds" of a movie, it's hard, almost impossible for it to work for you. I felt the parents were almost farcical from the start, when they "enjoyed themselves" when his adult only son wasn't with them at home, they basically did go out (something they could easily do with him still at home). In short, I found the kid too polite, peaceful and loving to be really hated. OK, he had some sort of "Peter Pan syndrome", and it's true he seemed to be all too comfortable at his parent's, but ... I just thought their (parent's) house was too posh and big, their reactions too violent (hiring thugs to kick your son out, wanting him dead when hearing there was a plane crash, teared apart his shirts etc., and erratic (Edith was suddenly loving and repentant until she found out her son wasn't actually dead, so was she when his son started suffering panic attacks, but not later). Tanguy is too perfect, if nerdy and unfaithful to his beautiful girlfriend. And probably too successful with (very beautiful on average) women he beds as effortlessly as we could say: "sneeze". Maybe that's French intellectual's prerogative, who knows :). His "rich and dumb" American clients are a big cliché that works. Everyone will have his/ her favourite scene. Mine are Paul's fits of anger: Tu te casses!! (=Get away!) and when Tanguy argues on the phone with her mum until he grabs the phone and yells: "Stop the crap" in worse and thus very convincing, terms. I think the film was illogical, and the 2nd part was actually awful. Watch without any expectation and you might be amused.

'Tanguy' is a nice French comedy, although it does not start that funny. It tells about a 28-year old guy named Tanguy (Eric Berger) who still lives with his parents. At first everything seems normal, but we slowly learn that especially his mother Edith (Sabine Azéma) wants him out of there. His father Paul (André Dussloier) basically wants the same thing, but at any cost. Tanguy himself has not a clue. Here the movie becomes funnier. The parents decide to make their house a terrible place for Tanguy; he must get annoyed of the place. Things do not work out as planned and slowly Paul becomes more and more upset with his son, especially after Tanguy has tried living on his own for a couple of days.The story becomes darker and therefore funnier. Tanguy seems a lovable person at first but slowly we come to understand the parents. His mother is truly a nice person, but too nice when Tanguy is around. Instead of being honest with him she constantly makes sure Tanguy does not want to move away. When the father starts losing it the best parts of 'Tanguy' arrive. It is too bad that the movie is already playing for an hour and a half; this is where conclusions should have been made.Another complaint I have is the save turn the movie takes near the end. Since both parents really started hating their son, certain other events help you understand why, you wish the screenplay kept following that path. The happy ending could have been the parents being really happy, butt the turn here is even saver. Not that it's really a big deal, I enjoyed everything that leads up to the ending. Not great, but certainly entertaining.

Etienne Chatiliez chose to broach a (rather dramatic) social phenomenon on a comedy tone: young adults who stay more and more longer with their parents. But his movie is far from the reality: these adults stay with their parents because they've got either financial problems, either psychological problems. But Tanguy doesn't suffer from both of these inconvenients, he comes from a quite wealthy family (his father is an architect and his mother a set designer. So, the movie articulates around a convenient but unlikely situation.This doesn't stop Chatiliez from having made a lively movie, often funny, filled with numerous details that kick the bull's eye and powerful cues. In a way, his fourth movie (in thirteen years!) ranks in the tradition of his first film. You find a caustic and often cutting humor, some disagreeable situations for certain characters (and particularly his parents) and the destruction of a peaceful universe. All in all, Tanguy's parents wanted to make Tanguy's life impossible but they'll fall into their own trap.The movie also enjoys a performance globally equal to the situation. Eric Berger, both nice and naive behind his student's glasses but also unaware of the problems he makes his parents endure. André Dussollier, entertaining in his role of exasperated and shattered father. However, Sabine Azéma hams it up a bit too often and his bombastic role fits badly to the screen.At the end, Chatiliez showed talent, intuition and perspicacity to make an honorable success. You can just also regret that Tanguy's description lacks of vivacity and temperament. Maybe the fact of being (too much) keen on Chinese philosophy destroys anger or rebellion.