Movies

Le gendarme de Saint-Tropez (1964) The first of what was apparently an extremely popular series of French comedies starring Louis de Funes as the titular gendarme. I only made it through about half an hour of this primitive uninteresting comedy. I was trying to figure out what exactly is the appeal of de Funes and it is beyond me. I think I have done my duty in this regard and feel no obligation to seek out his work - in fact I will probably avoid him in the future. This movie is simplistic pratfall slapstick - literally so because he falls on his butt in the middle of the road for no reason in the very first scene; a comedy of embarrassment, frustration and anger, lacking any sort of dynamic timing or imaginative staging. 1/10