A little like French pop music, French popular comedies can go either way. Both are usually sweet, sexy and a little bit quirky and The Brats - AKA Les Gamins – is no different.

At the film’s centre is Thomas, a wannabe musician in his early 30s who is played by French YouTube sensation Max Boublil, a bit of a hipster who also co-wrote the script. His character unexpectedly becomes close buddies with his future father-in-law (played by veteran comic Alain Chabat), who has quite a different take on marriage than the average bride’s dad and therein lies the fun.

A little like French pop music, French popular comedies can go either way. Both are usually sweet, sexy and a little bit quirky and The Brats - AKA Les Gamins – is no different.

At the film’s centre is Thomas, a wannabe musician in his early 30s who is played by French YouTube sensation Max Boublil, a bit of a hipster who also co-wrote the script. His character unexpectedly becomes close buddies with his future father-in-law (played by veteran comic Alain Chabat), who has quite a different take on marriage than the average bride’s dad and therein lies the fun.

Thomas wants to be a great composer but is stuck as a wedding singer, until his own impending nuptials with Lola (Melanier Bernier) make him decide to take a 9-5 office job, grow up and become a responsible adult. When he finally meets Lola’s dad Gilbert (Chabat) however, he gets a glimpse of his future – as in not so much rosy as absolutely dire. The fiftysomething bloke’s only pleasures seem to be pissing off his wife (Sandrine Kiberlain), who’s into eating only organic food and helping children in Africa, and exercising his right as Man of the House to the TV remote control.

The genius spark of the screenplay, co-written by Boublil and Anthony Marciano, is that Gilbert wants to dissuade Thomas from marrying his daughter because, clearly, if his own life is any indication, it’s not worth the time and effort. When the two men discover that they have something in common – they really can't stand the way their respective partners leave sentences unfinished - a bond is formed.

Gilbert wants to persuade Thomas not to get married lest he end up like him, and this becomes the cue for some fairly adolescent adventures with mostly hilarious results. A giggle this film most definitely is, but it’s held back by some random scenarios that are neither logical nor funny, and a bit of an uneven plotline all round.

Which brings me once again back to French pop music, much of which can also be described as the latter – brilliant in places but a bit lacking all round.

Having said all of that, The Brats was a qualified solid gold hit in its home country, closing in on an amazing USD$10 million gross after just three weeks. Clearly there are lots of people who loved the premise and the performances despite them being let down by the plot, so I would say that remake rights could definitely be of interest offshore. I wonder what would happen to this in the hands of the likes of James Franco and Seth Rogen or even Ben Stiller… some fun times could ensue.

Definitely worth a watch either way, if you’re a fan of Gallic gags then this is for you.

Oh and as an aside: how much does Alain Chabat look like Richard Gere?

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