De Funès, just like Bob Hope Before him, did not age gracefully or at least the scripts and stories to his films did not. I do not know exactly when the change occurred but it was some time during or after the film "The Grand Restaurant", where the first half is superb and the second half a catastrophe. Slapstick did not suit Funès. He was best when there was a tight script within which his madness could unfold as in the Fantomas-films or "Le Corniaud", which is probably the best film he participated in. At his best, Funès was quite unique and he did not steal anything from any other comedian as, for instance, Woody Allen did from Bob Hope although they politically could hardly be further apart. Funès was intense and he cannot be blamed for that he could not keep up until the very end, which probably came premature because of his intensity. His early work has wrongfully been put aside as less important but I find that these beginnings were especially charming. It's his later work that often was disappointing as, for instance, this film. I recently saw "Hibernatus" and that was still OK although it belongs to his later work.

Saw this in an un-subtitled version 8/6/15. Monsieur DeFunes is in fine form as a champion of traditional French gastronomy farcically at war with "industrial" cuisine. The pairing with Coluche works better than a bottle of Bordeaux alongside a plate of bifteck frites. DeFunes' Donald Duck persona complements Coluche's sad clown, the son of DeFunes' character secretly pursuing a career in greasepaint under le big top. The whole thing must have worked for me because I laughed. Here is a very entertaining movie. After having seen several DeFunes movies, I find myself asking once again, why didn't this talent catch on in America, other than very modestly for his work in "Rabbi Jacob"? (1973) The guy was funny. Coluche was not going for the big laughs in the movie here, instead playing in convincing fashion a sympathetic character, as the script intended. I want to see more of his movies, too. We Americans may not appreciate his humor the way the Europeans did, but this film clearly displays his ability as an actor in possession of considerable emotional depth.

As several other readers pointed out, "L'aile ou la cuisse" is probably an integer part of German television culture. At least for those of us who spent a lot of time glued to the screen, as I did as a child... This movie is a very funny satire on modern life and De Funes and Coluche are just great to watch performing. Above all, there's the wonderful 70ies music score of Vladimir Cosma that plunges you right back into those grand days of French comedy. Probably one of the best ones De Funes ever made. Unfortunately, it was also one of his last ones. Another interesting fact is that Pierre Richard was first to play the role of Gerard, the son of Duchemin. He was occupied by another production at that time, so Coluche came in.

Just a word of "advice" at the beginning: Don't watch this film while you're eating. Maybe you wouldn't want to keep your food after the second half of the film!This film I've seen for the first time as a child. You love Louis de Funès when you're child. He is the best clown you can get. Then you grow older and you think: ah, silly. Then you grow even older and suddenly you see the film again (it's out just now on DVD to celebrate the master's "90th birthday" in the next week) and laugh tears. Yes, the film is silly like so many French comedies, fast, hectic and silly. But still the idea for the script is brilliant and the "message" works today as it did in the 70s. The most funny thing about the film for a German, though, is the fact that they dubbed more lines than are actually said in the French original. I just realized this with the new DVD. For the first time ever I heard Funès in French and with the subtitles on I wondered after a while why so often there were subtitles but no dialogue. They actually tried to make it even funnier in the German dubbed version with more dialogue when you can't see the lips or when the lips are moved but nothing is said. It came as quite a shock to me. We have weird ways of treating film in this country...Anyway, this is probably the best film Funès ever did and if you want to see only one of his films, then let it be this one. You won't be disappointed.