5/10
average comedy
16 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"Rendez-vous" is a satire aimed at all those television programmes during which Westerners - preferably rich and famous Westerners - are taken to the ends of the earth, in order to spend some time among exotic foreigners. (Some isolated African tribe is ideal here.) The Westerners are supposed to get in touch with nature, with people close to nature, and with their inner selves. After a few weeks they return to England / France / the USA, amidst many a cry of "What hospitality ! What generosity ! These kind, simple people have opened my eyes ! Never again will I waste my time on stupid trivialities and hectic consumerism !" Then these enlightened souls return to exactly the same lifestyle as before. Meanwhile the members of the African tribe remain behind in stunned disbelief, wondering about a mad, mad society where people sniff cocaine and wear false eyelashes and run away screaming from meerkats...

In other words, "Rendez-vous" kicks a richly deserving bottom, which is always a plus. However, I can't say it's the best French comedy I ever saw.

There's a good line or a good joke here and there, but the whole feels as though it required an extra layer of effort. Moreover, the four main characters (our fish-out-of-the-water celebrities) are too caricatural and too obvious to inspire much interest or sympathy. Still, the story is set in a magnificent part of the world, and the scenery is jaw-dropping.
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