A hilariously inveterate womanizer (Jean-Paul Belmondo) drops his wife (Marie Laforet)off at the airport so she can go away for Easter weekend. He immediately picks up a young woman (Sophie Marceau), who has just had a fight with her married boyfriend. He gets her back to his apartment and is preparing for a long weekend of hot stranger sex, but then his wife suddenly returns, and he has to make up a spur-of-the-moment story of the young girl being his long-lost daughter. The girl plays along, but this leads to a whole series of increasingly ridiculous lies and comical situations (such as when her real mother shows up).This is an old-fashioned European comedy that tends to differ from more modern Hollywood comedies in that the protagonist does not have to be sympathetic, but can be a philandering cad or hypocritical blow-hard. Belmondo though, a legend in French movies since his seminal appearance in Godard's "Breathless", does make his character quite charming, even though he's a chronically philandering cad who tells one bald-faced lie after another. Marie Laforet is also good as his wife, who keeps a good poker-face throughout, so you're never sure how much, if any, of his ridiculous stories she is actually buying, or whether she is just torturing him for her own amusement. Sophie Marceau shows off her spectacular, nubile breasts quite a bit (mostly just to tease her lecherous much older suitor), but she also easily goes toe-to-toe with Belmondo acting-wise (as she would the next year with Gerard Depardieu in "Police"), which is pretty impressive for an actress who (if IMDb dates can be believed) was only 17 or 18 at the time.Continental European movies at that time really specialized in wild car chase scenes that would make Hal Needham hang his head in shame, so there are a number of those kind of shoe-horned into the plot as well. Still, all the zany situations, bare breasts, and car chase footage serve to speed this comedy along, making it a pretty fun ride even it's pretty much as light as a soufflé and about as substantial. I actually kind of miss comedies like this, compared to the ones today where the main character always has to be likable (even when is he is played by Adam Sandler) and invariably falls in love and/or learns a moral lesson by the end. I suppose these old-fashioned European movies could be considered more "sexist" (as opposed to, say, "Just Go with It" and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry"), but I don't personally buy that as even the young girl here is far more clever than the buffoonish male. This movie is mostly just a lot of harmless fun.

This movie is a comedy classic, which I've loved since I was kid. I remember going to the cinema and then waiting every year to watch this on television (before VHS/DVD was available). The plot is perfect, the dialogs are sharp and brilliant, and the movie is funny right from the beginning to the end. No matter there are shots plainly to show Bebel's commitment for doing stunts on his own, which are not related directly to the movie. Bebel is at his best shape (gestures, overacting in specific moments), Sophie in her teenage is both talented and bloody gorgeous and the overall result is mood improvement by 100 % every time I watch it. I do of course understand not everyone must necessarily like this movie (German audience perhaps :), but I totally share the enthusiasm of Hungarian colleagues. This movie belongs to my top 3 Bebel's movies together with L'animal and Le magnifique.

Ah yes, the famous French sense of humour. It's starts with a speed boat going through a shed for no apparent reason at all and then double takes of that. Bebel acts like he is stepping in for the late Louis de Funes- hyperactive, nervous, over the top. The plot reads quite amusing- it's not. Again the whole film degenerates into a farce that has no plot whatsoever and whenever Lautner, normally a competent director, loses the plot completely he adds a car chase which does not make any sense whatsoever. A couple of jibes at Mitterand's government then even try to turn this turkey into a political satire. How funny- the socialist wears a red tie and talks like Lenin on acid. The only good thing about this film is the nubile Sophie Marceau who is frequently fairly naked.

I found it very interesting that almost only Hungarian people wrote reviews on this film.About the film: IMO this is a typical French comedy, with lots of embarrassing and silly but funny situations and decent acting. Belmondo is in top form, the ladies are OK. If you like French comedies this is right up your street.What makes this movie unforgettable for many of my fellow citizens is the extremely high quality of the Hungarian dubbing. I mean, I watched this film with the original sound and i have to tell you I didn't get half of the pleasure than watching it with the Hungarian voices.( In Hungary films on TV are usually dubbed and the standard of voice acting in the country was top notch for years. It's slowly declining nowadays, though, I'm afraid.)Many Hungarians know the entire script by heart and it's always a good party thing if you quote a line from this film. To us it's just fun.Like I said earlier this might not be your cup of tea. However, just for the laughs you can watch it on a day when there's not much to do(I wish I had more of them). It's impossible not to -at least- smiley on the lovely character played by Belmondo.