Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageMon Père, ce héros (1991)
Director: Gérard Lauzier
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Proof positive that Depardieu is a star of international magnitude: even a pedestrian comedy like this warrants theatrical release in Britain. André (Depardieu), a divorced middle-aged businessman, takes daughter Véronique (Gillain) away for Christmas, but her bathing-suit makes him wonder whether Mauritius was such a good idea. At 14, she is not his little girl any more. Much smitten with one particular youth, Véronique impresses him with a tapestry of lies: she is a runaway, and André her sugar-daddy lover. Only when André is enveloped in the deceit do things perk up momentarily, and still the picture lumbers from laborious farce to shameless sentiment with all the grace of a beached whale (an image Depardieu brings to mind). The bovine sensibility of this tacky, tasteless blague is underscored with misogyny and a scurrilous hint of racism.Author: TCh
Cast & crew
Director: Gérard Lauzier
Producer: Jean-Louis Livi
Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Marie Gillain, Patrick Mille, Catherine Jacob, Charlotte de Turckheim, Eric Berger full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 104 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now