Rating: NR
Genre:
Comedy Drama
Release Date: 06/15/1999
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: French
Sound: 2
Run Time: 105 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: Fox Lorber
In this
black comedy from France, a family gathers in a tavern, ostensibly to celebrate a birthday, but poking each other's sore spots turns out to be the main order of business.
Henri (
Jean-Pierre Bacri) runs a saloon that he inherited from his father called "The Sleepy Dad," and in the near-empty bar, he plays host to several members of the family as they mark the 35th birthday of his sister-in-law,
Yolande (
Catherine Frot).
Henri's sister,
Betty (
Agnès Jaoui), is 30, single, and not very happy about it; his brother (and
Yolande's husband),
Phillipe (
Vladimir Yordanoff), runs a growing software company;
Mother (
Claire Maurier) is the siblings' strong-willed matriarch; and
Henri's dog is on hand, whom someone describes as "like a rug, but alive." It's not been a good day for most of them:
Phillipe is convinced that his business will go out the window as a result of the ugly tie that he wore on television;
Betty is depressed about the sad state of her current relationship;
Henri has just learned that his wife is leaving him; and
Mother is tossing caustic barbs at everyone left and right.
Henri's bartender
Denis (
Jean-Pierre Darroussin) is the one neutral party on hand, and he provides the voice of reason in the midst of the bickering.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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