Bye Bye Morons

Review by Ariel Klinghoffer @fkacernes

Directed by

Albert Dupontel

Starring

Albert Dupontel Nicholas Marié Virginie Efira

Anticipation.

A new Virginie Efira performance with a rather intriguing premise.

Enjoyment.

Borderline offensive, second-rate French farce.

In Retrospect.

Any excitement drops off after the first act and Mad Libs can help you predict the ending.

Despite Virginie Efira’s best efforts, this inane comedy from director Albert Dupontel is destined to be forgotten.

Back in March, after a year in which only a few months of cinemagoing was permitted due to the pandemic, France’s national film awards – the Césars – saw Albert Dupontel’s Bye Bye Morons claim seven victories from its 13 nominations. However, this is not necessarily a marker of overall quality. With Dupontel taking on directing, screenwriting and lead acting duties, Bye Bye Morons attempts to join the ranks of classic French absurdist comedies – but misses a step and instead falls on its face, using farcical slapstick throughout in place of genuine humour.

The film opens with two independent character threads that converge by chance, rendering them permanently interwoven in a sort of comedy of errors. These characters are Suze Trappet (Virginie Efira), a middle-aged woman issued with a death sentence after finding out she has an incredibly rare and incurable immune disease, and Jean-Baptiste Cuchas (Albert Dupontel), technological savant and director of surveillance and security in some unspecified governmental institution in Limoges.

After learning of her fate, Suze decides to seek out the child she was forced to put up for adoption following her unplanned teenage pregnancy, and when Jean-Baptiste is fired from the very building where the family archives are stored, their paths cross and chaos ensues. Jean-Baptiste’s earlier failed suicide attempt made it seem as though he was opening fire on his colleagues, and when Suze finds a way to blackmail Jean-Baptiste through her possession of the evidence needed to acquit him, they become partners in crime on the journey to find Suze’s son before she dies.

If the basic premise sounds ripe for comedic potential, the morally-dubious script doesn’t do the idea justice. Much of the intended comedy stems from the aforementioned notion of self-harm, specifically scenes featuring the repeated injury of Monsieur Blin (Nicholas Marié), a blind archivist who becomes a vital member of Jean-Baptiste and Suze’s mission.

The exception to the mediocrity of Bye Bye Morons is Virginie Efira. Although having established herself in Justine Triet’s Sibyl and Catherine Corsini’s An Impossible Love, her presence here seems like a downgrade. And yet, the constraints of the material do not succeed in holding her back, Efira somehow managing to deliver a genuine performance. Bye Bye Morons ultimately tries so hard to be its own thing that it ends up relegating itself to the scrapheap of C-grade comedies with predictable outcomes and a poorly thought-out undercurrent of romance.

Published 23 Jul 2021

Tags: Albert Dupontel Bye Bye Morons Virginie Efira

Anticipation.

A new Virginie Efira performance with a rather intriguing premise.

Enjoyment.

Borderline offensive, second-rate French farce.

In Retrospect.

Any excitement drops off after the first act and Mad Libs can help you predict the ending.

Suggested For You

Annette – first-look review

By Hannah Strong

Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard star in Leos Carax’s audacious rock opera about a baby with a very special gift.

P’tit Quinquin

By Anton Bitel

The high priest of gloom, Bruno Dumont, returns with a comedy which is part Jacques Tati, part Twin Peaks.

review LWLies Recommends

Titane – first-look review

By Hannah Strong

Julia Ducournau’s sensational second feature offers an intoxicating mix of grease, gore and gasoline.

Little White Lies Logo

About Little White Lies

Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.

Editorial

Design