There's not much of a plot in Serge Korber "L'Homme Orchestre" (or translated literally "The Orchestra Man") but that takes nothing away from the emotional sweep it provides from one scene to another. Yes, the film is all 70's kitsch but it is oh so full of such jovial and retro-psychedelic exuberance that you just want to embrace its silliness and share a few steps with the dancers. The whole films is like a fantasy but a fantasy that takes one element seriously: music, and music is conducted by a real man-orchestra, a complete artist named Louis De Funès.The comical legend was born in a Spanish family and was a jazz pianist during the war, spending days and nights playing in bars and cabarets before getting his first break in show business and becoming an entertainer. So musical rhythm have been running in his blood for the most part of his life, in fact, one of his earliest successes was the musical-hall themed movie, "Ah les belles bacchantes". Sixteen years later, in 1970, a role like Evan Evans, manager of a dancing company in the South of France might have sounded like a departure from his usual portrayals of bourgeois prominent figures or policemen, but it's in fact a real come-back to his roots that 'Fufu' accomplishes here: stage, music and all.And Funes' experience, more than his comical talent (which is saying a lot) is perhaps the best blessing the film could ever have because his performance is believable, there's a way he uses his body language to match a musical tempo, sometimes he literally grabs the notes with his hand and seem to drive the dancers and musicians to his 'vision', even the way he uses sort of telepathy is the kind of mental gimmick you'd believe a man passionate about his job would use. Much more once the 56-year old man sets his foot on the stage, you don't believe he hasn't been a dancer, De Funès has the moves and it shows in the film. I couldn't think of another actor who could have pulled it better, perhaps Yves Montand, but imagine him directing a group of young women, his charm would operate as smoothly as surely as it would destroy the film's premise.Because De Funès is still De Funès after all, a protective fatherly figure, a man who means business and insists that his company is more disciplined than a convent. His relationship with the girls sets him up as a man of impeccable morality, and that's what backfires at him when a the silly plot about the babies starts. But what I love in his Evan Evans is that he doesn't play his usual self-centered side, except for business reasons, his dedication to his art and to the girls establishes one of his most lovable figure, and even allows his usual shtick to look fresh and original because this time he doesn't preach the same choir.You see him teaching them self-defense, serving dinner but not after checking their weight, and in one of the film's most memorable scene telling them the story about the wolf and the lamb, and that scene alone is a showcase of his comedic gifts. These moments are full of irresistible tenderness and even the girls are believable in that role, because they don't act as if they were with Evans but with De Funès, so even with so many small roles, there's never a performance that doesn't ring true. They even manage to outsmart him a few times. And you can tell he knows his girls, their habits, their manners, their languages etc. Not to mention that the film captures a sort of lost coquettish innocence exulting from these little dances, one I'd take over all the bare-ass humping we handle today.De Funès' movies have always been divided in two, those that aged well, those that didn't and in the late 60's many movies seemed to simply exploit his popularity and give him rather meager scripts where you could throw a few tantrums and mimics and attract one million or two; De Funès wasn't fooled by that and admitted he did a few stinkers, and it's easy to spot them, there's a reliable test to determine if it's a good or bad De Funès, when he relies too much on crazy mimics and grimaces, it means that the film is desperately begging you to laugh, when the film is good enough, De Funès doesn't overplay it.Another reason the film works is that it cleverly exploits the presence of his son Olivier and doesn't just play him as an obedient and handsome sidekick or foil to his father (uncle in the film). Philippe starts as a naive young man and a pawn of one of his uncle's most cunning scheme (you'd see how far he'd get to keep one of his girls) but there's an evolution all through the film, and his good looks and moderate singing talent contributes to very memorable musical moments, the most defining being the little duet with De Funès while they're pampering two babies. The little tone of this sequence, the intimacy between the two men, redeem all the contrivances of the plot, you know this is a film that trusts its material enough it knows it can get away with a little silliness.The music is catchy and memorable, the outdoors shot in Italy gives it's a nice international flavor and I wonder if some montage sequences weren't ahead of its time, but the bottom-line is that it is one of my favorite De Funès' movie and it's not just nostalgia, many movies I enjoyed as a kid didn't improve that well over the course of the year.

Daddy Funès' multifaceted career includes several bourgeois conventional comedies that we have already discussed on this site (HIBERNATUS, Oscar), and some less conventional humorous outings, such as L'HOMME ORCHESTRE and LE GRAND RESTAURANT. A comedy of music and dance, L'HOMME ORCHESTRE is an attempt at a sex comedy—with Funès in his usual sexless austere persona; he performs the head of a dance troop, as his choreographic talent allowed him.I think Funès would of made a convincing faun (Funès could have been, had he consented, an ultra—Finlay …), yet the type—casting or maybe his own ambitions and prejudices and petty bourgeois respectability—which again reverts to type—casting—kept him away from this and he promoted an asexual, grumpy sexless persona—like the irascible Evan—Evans in this comedy.L'HOMME ORCHESTRE's sexpot is a mellow blonde, Françoise, slightly plumper than the other babes in Funès' dance ensemble, and shown as conveniently loving an oldster. Another blonde, Hendrike—a young mom—seemed on the brink of taking over, but no …. So, to speak my mind, this is perhaps not a very good comedy, quite deficiently written, and one whose presumed and self—styled originality is not convincing; yet it is of course recommended to Funès fans because it features a few genuine Funès bits of 'divertissement. Except for Funès himself, nothing else is really very good in L'HOMME ORCHESTRE, and the movie looks, as I said, sadly undecided and murky. Of course such comedy—exploitation is not at all unusual in most famous comedy actors' careers. This one has the changing content of a varieties TV show; even Funès' character ceaselessly switches between the dances patron prestige and the yellow sportswear of a funny oldster ….The French popular comedies gone fancy tend to have somewhat loose structures, to look a bit pointless, to be rather vaguely paced; this one, and others like it, are not sophisticated comedies—in the sense Tati's are, but popular comedies gone fancy …. L'HOMME ORCHESTRE is indeed a bit murky, undecided about its own nature—a dance comedy, a grumpy asexual Funès comedy, Françoise's romance …--then, in the last third, a baby comedy, with the baby of one of the dancing girls …. The movie looks like a series of _divagations, and it offers only some very vague fun; anyway, even in terms of fun L'HOMME ORCHESTRE is meaningless—what was it about? It might have been about Evan—Evans' nephew, after all. The girls are nice, and the dancing numbers rather average.

For lovers of this great french comedian this movie is best watched with the remote control in one hand. The story is the typical mix of little choleric Louis (playing the director of an all girl dancing group) who tries to shield them from other men so that the girls won't be distracted from their job. There are a couple of well directed scenes that provide good laughs and Louis delivers the whole range of his facial expressions that alone makes you giggle. However this time the script seems to have lacked enough ideas for a full movie, therefore you will have to sit through plenty of dancing and music and even an almost unbearable singing scene where Louis de Funes sings musical-like. Approx. half of the movie time is being consumed by music, dance and singing only - too much for a comedy.Therefore my advice: skip those dull scenes with the fast forward of your remote control and have a good laugh at Louis while he is really acting (and not dancing or singing).

I saw this film in India in the mid-70s an a dubbed English version called "One Man Band". Louis des Funes was already popular thanks to his "Fantomas" movies and this one is a very inventive comedy. Worth watching and to keep when available. I have been looking for a video of this film for years.