The Visitors (or Les Visiteurs) begins in the 12th century, in swashbuckling style, as a knight saves the king’s life and is rewarded with the hand of his daughter. Alas, a magician’s potion so addles the knight that he then mistakes the king for a bear and slays him. Having killed the king, he can hardly marry the daughter, and so he pledges that he will never marry; small consolation, but it’s the thought that counts.
So opens the most popular film in French history, the film that out-grossed Jurassic Park and left Frenchmen helpless with laughter. Nearly 18 years after it was made, I can see why. Well, for the most part.
Les Visiteurs begins in the 12th century where we meet Sir Godefroy de Papincourt (Jean Reno), Comte de Montmirail, who has just saved the King’s life. He is praised for his bravery and allowed to marry the woman he loves – the beautiful Lady Frénégonde de Pouille. An evil witch, however, casts a spell on Sir Godefroy and he ends up killing his future father-in-law. Devastated, Lady Frénégonde declares that she could no longer be with his lover and enters a convent.
Heartbroken, Sir Godefroy begs a powerful wizard to help him out. The wizard agrees and tells Sir Godefroy that he would cook up a magic potion that will get him back in time so he could undo the killing of Lady Frénégonde’s father. Unfortunately, he screws up the potion and Sir Godefroy and his vassal, Jacquouille la Fripouille (Christian Clavier), end up in present days. As expected, all hell breaks loose.
It’s fairly easy to tell why North American critics lambasted the movie: its plot is fairly predictable, there are a number of cliched scenes in it where the humor is a bit odd, and the archaic lines the main protagonists occasionally utter are indeed rather difficult to appreciate by non-French speakers. Add to the mix Clavier’s never ending grimacing, which really does get old after awhile, and I could almost agree that Les Visiteurs isn’t suitable for the North American market.
However, unless many of the above mentioned critics went to see the film for the wrong reason, which is actually quite possible, I think that Reno’s contribution alone very effectively proves them wrong. Throughout it, his improvisations are inspiring, witty and, considering the largely unoriginal script he had to work with, surprisingly fresh. Some of his sarcastic lines during the second half of the film, targeting the French upper class, are also very impressive. And that’s coming from a guy where the most French he speaks is “french toast.”
Sweet, delicious, tantalizing french toast.
Some of the jokes are clever, as when the time travelers receive strong hints about their body odor, and take baths while fully clothed, after pouring thousands of francs’ worth of expensive perfume into the water. Other jokes run toward bathroom humor, goofy slapstick, and the sorts of things you’d expect from a Naked Gun clone. There is much goofiness involving priceless rings and hidden dungeons. And you know what? That can be a lot of fun.
Technically, Les Visiteurs does not break new ground – the special effects are unpretentious while the editing is adequate but at times a bit stiff as well. There is also a tendency to overemphasize some of the more obvious comedic elements (again, during the second half of the film). On the other hand, some of the most hilarious moments actually occur when Reno and Clavier do not act as complete idiots.
To sum it all up, Les Visiteurs will appeal to those of you who already like Reno (or Clavier) and have experimented with some of his less impressive French works. Admittedly, this film isn’t one of his best but, contrary to what many esteemed critics have already claimed, it is also far and away from being one of his worst. It’s certainly one of the most times you’ll have with time travel and reading subtitles. Give it a chance already!
But not the American remake. If you do, we can no longer be best friends forever, just best friends.