The film today is M. Hulot’s Holiday and we find Mr. Hulot driving a classic old car to a hotel to the coast of France. We then follow his bumbling stumbling ways as he tries to relax at the beach.

As he vacations we encounter others at the hotel. The attractive blond with Princess Leia curls, the busy businessman who is always being called, the older couple where the wife is excited about every shell on the beach (and her husband couldn’t give a crap), the workers in the hotel who put up with everyone and everything and a gaggle of kids who run in and out of scenes.

And, well, there isn’t much to say from here on out…other then to talk about the comedic bits.

Hulot’s car getting a flat while at cemetery and his tire being thought of as a wreath.

Hulot’s attempt to go horseback riding.

Hulot’s playing of tennis and his obscure style of serving the ball.

Hulot’s attempt to go canoeing and then being mistaken for a shark.

Hulot’s setting off of a bunch of fireworks.

And a handful of others.

There are some moments within the story (or lack of one) where he attempts to woo the Princess Leia beauty (and comes up short).

And then, like most vacations, they end and everyone goes home.

What I liked:

Overall I loved the feel of a film that is so embracing of the style of silent films. Literally I could have watched the film with the subtitles off and gotten every joke and nearly every comment.

Hulot’s comic character and mannerisms where fun to watch and enjoy and the film never came off as mean-spirited or stupid.

What I didn’t like:

To me, this is where the film fails. It has no STORY. It has no THROUGH LINE. There’s no PLOT. It’s a disjointed collection of comic bits that really don’t add up to a whole.

I know, you’re saying to yourself, “Plots are OVER-RATED! Why do we need be so obsessed with STORY?” And Terry Jones’s comments about comedy and art really do ring true when looked at in that context but I wanted more. I wanted there to be a story to wrap the comedic shenanigans (love that word) around.

For instance, it would have been funnier if within the first 30 minutes Hulot loses his wallet and has to spend the time trying to avoid the owner of the hotel who is looking for him. Or it would have been funnier if within the first 30 minutes Hulot had set his sights on the lovely lady and chose to pursue her in earnest (not, more so, running into her and enjoying her company). If there was some desire or want or need coming from Hulot (much like Clouseau’s attempt to solve the mystery – and succeeding in the process while destroying everything around him) – then this film would have had more resonance. The comedy would be, how do they say it, “EARNED.” Instead we get a handful of disjointed comedic bits that don’t add up to much of anything other than…well…a handful of comedic bits.

I’ll give you two examples in this film, one good, one bad:

1. (good) The taffy. Early on in the film Hulot becomes fascinated by the fact that a sweets salesman has a big ball of taffy on a hook. The taffy SLOOOOOOOOOWLY begins to ooze off the hook and the salesman always seems to rescue it before it drops to the ground. Later in the film – now that the joke has been set up – we see Hulot spy the taffy again. This time the cart that the taffy is on is tipped and the taffy is oozing quicker. Hulot attempts to save the taffy and ends up stretching it over a door frame. Set-up + Pay-off = FUNNY!

2. (bad) The fireworks. Late in the film Hulot wanders into a small beach house only to set off all the fireworks therein – creating havoc in the hotel and the surrounding area as he tries to stop them. No Set-up + Pay-off = Pointless and/or stupid.

(Note, in “Revenge of the Pink Panther” Clouseau’s investigation takes him to a fireworks factory in China. You KNOW the inevitable is going to happen and, of course, it does. All hell breaks loose. And it’s funny – though “Revenge” is certainly not the best in the Panther series.)

Overall:

Cute. Some funny bits that don’t add up to a whole.