I had the great pleasure of seeing the stage version - complete with the two leads - in Paris shortly before it was filmed. I was already a fervent admirer of Francis Veber (I still am) and owned the original film version on DVD, in that version, of course, Veber supplied only the screenplay. Reading the four reviews here it would seem that Veber is an acquired taste and if that is so then Billy Wilder is also an acquired taste, for Wilder it was who 'adapted' L'Emmerdeur' into what became his last film, 'Buddy, Buddy', which did, of course, fail to find its audience. All this to one side L'Emmerdeur remains a great conceit in all three versions and if Lino exudes more menace than Richard Berry then so be it, just as, by the same token, Patrick Timsit IS Francois Pignon in a way that Jacques Brel could only aspire to.
Comedy? Check. Black? Check. So what are you waiting for.
Comedy? Check. Black? Check. So what are you waiting for.