In 1995, Jean Dujardin created the character of yellow-clad surfer and joker jock Brice from Nice. That simple name hides a clever gag many people (especially outside France) would easily overlook, and I don't mean the rhyming names.
Nice is in the Mediterranean coast, which means there are no waves, not enough to brag about being a surfer. But that's exactly what the character is about: all bragging and no acting. One of his many punch lines was "I have an authentic shark tooth made of resin" or "I can swim but not in the water". In the movie, he's not much a passive character as someone 'waiting for the wave' to come, which carries some tender poetry if there had been a plot to justify the whole nonsense we're forced to endure. But let's get back to the earlier days.
Brice, made a name out of Dujardin in a TV talent show. Then, the future Oscar-winner made his ascension within the "Nous C Nous" troop and his cocky character with the reversed Nike logo on his T-shirt, originated a new concept that has entered modern day language, the concept of "breaking someone" (with the gesture). It was translated in English by 'axed' but they could have kept the 'breaking' verb since you can often hear breaking noises for that effect.
Breaking can be described as verbally 'owning' someone, even one who didn't insult you. "I have a yellow party tonight, how would you feel about not coming?", "Hey, it's better when you shut up" or simply interrupting a long litany by a simple and deadpan "I'm bored" or "We see your testicles". You break someone when you basically leave him speechless or with nothing he can ever said to own you back. There's a great sequence in the film that involves a 'break vs. break" duel, each contestant is allowed to have shot as the master breaker and try to get him at his own game, naturally, they all fall literally, in the pool.
The contest works as a character-establishing moment, setting Brice as the master of witty and acid punch-lines but you're waiting for the moment someone really gets him, such a cocky character must find his match. I thought it would be the character played by Bruno Salomone, Dujardin's partner from the earlier days (he's Igor from Hossegor) or maybe the girl played by ElodieBouchez but in fact..., nothing ever happens after the set-up, we just had twenty minutes of fun for a rest of uninspired script laziness. There are a few fun moments but they never match the first act.
Unfortunately, "Brice de Nice" suffers from the same symptoms as other French movies based on sketches, like Gad El Maleh's "Coco" or "Chouchou", they get the concept, they know how to build up the character, working on the previous material, but they forget to have a second, sometimes a third act. The movies are only excuses for a series of totally disjointed gags and failed attempts to insert emotions, making whatever empathy you could feel slowly fade out.
These films generally meet with commercial success despite being critically panned, the reason is that Brice wasn't as well known in the late 90's as in the early 2000's with the emergence of peer-to-peers programs and when his "breaking" sketch went viral, it was the MSN and "lol" days, and Brice de Nice was like an icon for that generation, where you try to exist and exit with style and "break" someone without sounding like a bully, a generation that values popularity and friends on a quantitative level, superficial at times but with style.There's a moment where he tries to rob a bank and you know the part was just inserted so the film's hit song would be played.
An era-defining character like Brice de Nice was so innovative and genuinely catching that the producers thought the story was secondary. But he deserved better than a plot up involving money, or a buddy trip with a character who has all toes looking like thumbs and played by Clovis Cornillac, how could they every pitch that I 'll never get. They try to save the film with some romantic subplot involving a mermaid he meets in his dream, played by Alexandra Lamy, his partner in the "Un gars, UneFille" series and wife for a decade, but her presence, besides dating the film, never adds any density.
You keep waiting for the wave. Dujardin would make a better movie the next year "OSS 117" also based on a pre-existing character but this time with a plot, and enough situations to provide gags, maybe Michel Hazanivicius understood more than any other director the star-power of Dujardin, leading to the Oscar win for "The Artist". "Brice de Nice" had great potential, too bad they just forgot the script.
Nice is in the Mediterranean coast, which means there are no waves, not enough to brag about being a surfer. But that's exactly what the character is about: all bragging and no acting. One of his many punch lines was "I have an authentic shark tooth made of resin" or "I can swim but not in the water". In the movie, he's not much a passive character as someone 'waiting for the wave' to come, which carries some tender poetry if there had been a plot to justify the whole nonsense we're forced to endure. But let's get back to the earlier days.
Brice, made a name out of Dujardin in a TV talent show. Then, the future Oscar-winner made his ascension within the "Nous C Nous" troop and his cocky character with the reversed Nike logo on his T-shirt, originated a new concept that has entered modern day language, the concept of "breaking someone" (with the gesture). It was translated in English by 'axed' but they could have kept the 'breaking' verb since you can often hear breaking noises for that effect.
Breaking can be described as verbally 'owning' someone, even one who didn't insult you. "I have a yellow party tonight, how would you feel about not coming?", "Hey, it's better when you shut up" or simply interrupting a long litany by a simple and deadpan "I'm bored" or "We see your testicles". You break someone when you basically leave him speechless or with nothing he can ever said to own you back. There's a great sequence in the film that involves a 'break vs. break" duel, each contestant is allowed to have shot as the master breaker and try to get him at his own game, naturally, they all fall literally, in the pool.
The contest works as a character-establishing moment, setting Brice as the master of witty and acid punch-lines but you're waiting for the moment someone really gets him, such a cocky character must find his match. I thought it would be the character played by Bruno Salomone, Dujardin's partner from the earlier days (he's Igor from Hossegor) or maybe the girl played by ElodieBouchez but in fact..., nothing ever happens after the set-up, we just had twenty minutes of fun for a rest of uninspired script laziness. There are a few fun moments but they never match the first act.
Unfortunately, "Brice de Nice" suffers from the same symptoms as other French movies based on sketches, like Gad El Maleh's "Coco" or "Chouchou", they get the concept, they know how to build up the character, working on the previous material, but they forget to have a second, sometimes a third act. The movies are only excuses for a series of totally disjointed gags and failed attempts to insert emotions, making whatever empathy you could feel slowly fade out.
These films generally meet with commercial success despite being critically panned, the reason is that Brice wasn't as well known in the late 90's as in the early 2000's with the emergence of peer-to-peers programs and when his "breaking" sketch went viral, it was the MSN and "lol" days, and Brice de Nice was like an icon for that generation, where you try to exist and exit with style and "break" someone without sounding like a bully, a generation that values popularity and friends on a quantitative level, superficial at times but with style.There's a moment where he tries to rob a bank and you know the part was just inserted so the film's hit song would be played.
An era-defining character like Brice de Nice was so innovative and genuinely catching that the producers thought the story was secondary. But he deserved better than a plot up involving money, or a buddy trip with a character who has all toes looking like thumbs and played by Clovis Cornillac, how could they every pitch that I 'll never get. They try to save the film with some romantic subplot involving a mermaid he meets in his dream, played by Alexandra Lamy, his partner in the "Un gars, UneFille" series and wife for a decade, but her presence, besides dating the film, never adds any density.
You keep waiting for the wave. Dujardin would make a better movie the next year "OSS 117" also based on a pre-existing character but this time with a plot, and enough situations to provide gags, maybe Michel Hazanivicius understood more than any other director the star-power of Dujardin, leading to the Oscar win for "The Artist". "Brice de Nice" had great potential, too bad they just forgot the script.