Educational Media Reviews Online

There is a precedent for success by remaking French comedies like 3 Men and a Baby or The Birdcage by American producers. Jean-Paul Salomé wrote and directed Playing Dead (Je fais le mort), and I would wager that it will most likely be turned into an American comedy, probably set in a ski village like Stowe, Vermont. But, I would not wait for the remake, the original is simply too irresistible as a comic who-done-it. It is carefully crafted, beautifully photographed, impeccably acted and has the right amount of quirkiness and cheek to keep audiences amused and intrigued.

Jean Renault (François Damien), a fortyish actor whose last name is spelled like the rather ordinary manufacturer of French cars and pronounced the same way as iconic French actor Jean Reno, is unemployed because he is insufferable, egotistically indifferent and just won’t take direction. He constantly gets fired from film shoots and his early days as an ascending star with a César Award for most promising actor (the French equivalent of an Academy Award) are far behind him. A counselor at the unemployment office proposes he take a rather unusual acting job, playing the victim in a crime scene reconstruction. He agrees and sets off on a hilarious murder mystery.

On the train to the picturesque French Alps ski town of Megève, he meets Noémie (actor/director Geraldine Nakache), the judge presiding over the investigation and crime reconstruction. They clash but end up being able to work together to find the real killer. Add to the mix a cast of mysterious or oddball characters and a list of potential murderers, and the result is as enjoyable as watching Inspector Clouseau visit Twin Peaks. The film allows for some excellent performances by Lucien Jean-Baptiste as the honest local cop with a reason to have a grudge and Anne Le Ny as Madame Jacky, the inn’s creepy manager. The film is fresh and the characters are not simply caricatures but have purpose in the development of the plot. This is a truly smart and hilarious film from a noteworthy writer/director. In French with correctly translated English subtitles.