One Wild Moment (2015) Poster

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7/10
Didn't you see this before?
JohnRayPeterson13 October 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This 2015 French comedy is almost a copy of the 1984 'Blame It on Rio'. Buddies go on a vacation with their teenage daughters and one of the precocious girls gets a crush on her dad's friend and goes a bit too far. That's pretty much the storyline of both movies in a nutshell. Of course the settings are different, la 'Provence' vs 'Rio' and the original version of the more recent of the two movies is in French. Also, as one might expect from a French movie, there is more nudity because the French are not so hung up on censorship. The dads are younger and more fit as well, of course.

Now I happen to like the actors Vincent Cassel and François Cluzet so I don't want to sound as critical as I may have sounded in this intro description of the film. Both Cassel and Cluzet deliver as good performances as their counter parts Michael Caine and Joseph Bologna; Cluzet perhaps somewhat better than Bologna, but that's just my opinion. The daughters are played by lesser known Lola Le Lann and Alice Isaaz, though Isaac has already some acting awards in her profile while Le Lann hasn't but makes up for that with her main character juicy role as Louna, the lusty teenie. There's no doubt she will get more parts just as Michelle Johnson did after 'Blame It on Rio' because both women are gorgeous.

Cassel plays the dad who couldn't resist the charms of his friend's daughter and has to clumsily cover the affair, just as Caine had to. The antics of that role do not lend themselves to high drama but it is at least entertaining.

A major difference between both flics is the participation of the two dad's wives, make that one ex and one not, and also that the older movie featured the likes of Demi Moore and Valerie Harper is those roles, practically non existent in the French remake. Neither versions went so far as to be melodramatic, thankfully, so I simply describe the genre as comedy, but sure there's a bit of drama and romance but nothing impressive.

If you haven't seen the 1984 movie, then you can simply watch this more current production; I doubt you'll care to see the two. One is enough. I watched the second because I'm a movie buff, I like Cassel and I expected the French film (not dubbed because I dislike those ) to have a more liberal tone, which it did, of course.
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7/10
Quite good!
fil-nik0917 April 2016
French movies are either so boring and dull or totally opposite: really awesome. This one is really great and kinda feel good movie ( at least for me).

What I liked about the movie... I liked the landscapes and whole background. Really nice nature of the Corsica ( though I believe it was filmed somewhere in the south of France) and colors of the summer. The soundtrack to the movie was surprisingly new - Lean On, Diamonds by Rihanna and many recent hits. The girls are really believable ( well, I guess all they had to do is to be themselves) and Vincent. The other dad was over dramatic and I had a feeling he was trying too hard to act those angry and awkward situations that he becomes cartoonishly silly.

I did not know that the movie is a remake of the 70's movie... I might look for it. The whole summertime feel and carelessness feel remind me of another French movie: The Pool.

All in all, the movie is really watchable and enjoyable. It ends with a girl smiling...and I couldn't help but smile too.

Seven + from me.
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7/10
Dilf
kosmasp3 June 2016
If you read a couple of things about this, then you know what direction this is going to. And the whole setup might annoy some people, because it does take its time to introduce the characters, make us aware of who is who and their general relationship with each other. I think it's important to know those things, others may disagree, just know where you are standing with this.

Of course not all decisions by the characters are really good and appropriate. Otherwise we wouldn't have a movie and an issue in itself. The female in question has Lolita qualities and you can see where one would at least have thoughts that might not be in ones own best interest. Things are not always black and white, and people do certain things out of the spark of the moment (or because they were drunk). The ending ... well I'll let you decide what to make of it ...
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French re-make of "Blame It on Rio"?--well, not quite
lazarillo21 October 2016
There is a reason that some of the other reviewers have noted that the plot of this movie is very similar to the 1984 American film "Blame It on Rio". BOTH movies are remakes of a now largely forgotten 1977 French film with the same title as this one, "Un Moment d'engarement" ("One Wild Moment"). It is interesting though that the French are STILL making films like this, while the Americans wouldn't touch this subject today with a ten-foot pole. It's very doubtful older teenage girls have become more virginal since the 1970's and 1980's, and the idea that a sexual relationship between a younger person and an older person is ALWAYS "predatory" (provided the younger person is old enough to be sexually active in the first place)is a lot more debatable than it is often made out to be. Are sexually active teenage girls really a lot better off with an inexperienced guy "their own age" who doesn't even know how to successfully use a condom?

For me though it is pretty simple. There are A LOT of things that seem exciting and enticing in movies, but would be extremely foolish and probably disastrous to do in real life. I definitely wouldn't lie down on the train tracks and let a train pass over me, even though it seems exciting when they do it in movies, and by the same token, while I enjoy the fantasy of movies like this (or the two earlier versions), I certainly wouldn't do it in real life. I doubt even in real-life France that middle-age men routinely sleep with their friends' teenage daughters, but the French also just don't have the ridiculous puritanical hang-ups of Americans when it comes to anything having to do with S-E-X, and thank god for that.

For what it's worth, this version does make one concession to our more cautionary times. While the young actresses in the original "Un Moment d'engarement" and "Blame It On Rio" were both slightly underage themselves at the time like their characters, the actress here, Lola Le Lann, was actually about twenty, and ANY male of ANY age will find her VERY attractive as she frolics around completely naked in the surf. Ooh-la-la! I do think they should have switched the male roles and had the more mature and repressed Francois Cluzet get involved with his friend's daughter as opposed to the more youthful and "dangerous" Vincent Cassell. (That dynamic worked better in "Blame It On Rio" where the hapless Michael Caine had to deal with the volatile Joseph Bologna, who was trying to find the older man who slept with his daughter). Still this is a pretty entertaining and sexy movie, but definitely don't expect another American remake in this day and age.
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6/10
France wears it well
ferguson-625 September 2018
Greetings again from the darkness. In 1977, French Producer-Writer-Director-Actor Claude Berri directed a film version of his own original screenplay entitled IN A WILD MOMENT. In 1984, director Stanley Donen's (SINGIN' IN THE RAIN) final feature film was an Americanized remake that inexplicably left Mr. Berri as uncredited. Perhaps that's how Berri preferred it, since Donen's BLAME IT ON RIO was atrocious and nearly unwatchable despite a cast that included Michael Caine and a 21 year old Demi Moore. This third iteration, directed by Jean-Francois Richet (who co-wrote the adapted screenplay with Lisa Azuelos) does credit Berri, and returns the material to France where it's a better fit.

Best friends Antoine and Laurent take their teenage daughters Louna and Marie (who are also best friends) on holiday to Antoine's childhood home in the Corsica countryside. The house is a bit rustic and neglected, has spotty (at best) internet, includes a family burial plot, and is miles from town. The only neighbor is an elderly gentleman and his roaming dog. The girls aren't nearly as taken with the serenity as their dads seem to be.

Both dads are loving and protective of their daughters, though the usual teenager-parent squabbles occur regularly. Watching the interactions between the dads and daughters, between the two men, and between the two teenagers is quite entertaining and exceedingly believable. Of course, the core of the story is what happens in one "wild" moment when Laurent is simply being supportive of Antoine's daughter Louna - and her teenage crush of the older man shifts into seduction. A late night naked frolic on the beach crosses the line that should never be crossed. Laurent instantly regrets the action, and Louna falls "in love" like only a teenager can.

The rest of the movie becomes an uneasy dance of lies, threats, insinuations and betrayals. Most of it is handled with a comedic intentions, and that compounds the feelings of queasiness and disgust that we have towards Laurent and his unacceptable and unforgivable (and illegal) actions. We see the two men frazzled for much different reasons. Though he doesn't know the identity of the "older man" who took advantage of his daughter, Antoine is obsessed with tracking him down and making him pay. On the other hand, Laurent is desperate to keep the secret from his friend, and that forces him to play along with Louna's taunting games.

Two of France's biggest stars, Vincent Cassel (MESRINE) and Francois Cluzet (THE INTOUCHABLES, TELL NO ONE) play Laurent and Antoine, respectively, while Lola Le Lann (age 19 during filming) and Alice Isaaz are Louna and Marie. Mr. Cassel and Ms. Isaaz are especially effective - he in a no-win role, and she leaving us wanting even more characterization.

Though it was filmed more than 3 years ago, it's now getting a second life. Original writer Claude Berri is probably best known for his stellar work on JEAN DE FLORETTE and MANON OF THE SPRING, and we can't help but think his script would work better in contemporary times if the comedy turned much darker and made it abundantly clear that Laurent's actions were entirely unacceptable - instead of leaving his response to young Louna's come-on as understandable. The film is produced by Thomas Langmann, the son of Claude Berri, and kicks off with the beautiful and familiar version of "La Mer", a 1946 song by Charles Trenet.
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4/10
Dated premise and fairly tedious
sally_edsall19 March 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this at the french Film Festival in Sydney, 2016. I always go to see anything Francois Cluzet is in, but am afraid this year he disappointed. He seemed to be sleep-walking through this. I found the situations he was depicted in fairly tedious and not funny at all, though it is billed as a comedy.

Alice Isaaz is the stand-out in this. She offers a nuanced role and view about the situation, which let's face it, is as old as the hills (Lolita - type seductress and older man who 'can't resist'). Isaaz's character does remind her 45- year old father that HE is the adult.

"Lolita's" doe-eyes and pouting were grating. Her's was a one-note performance.

Cassell was workmanlike, but the character was beyond irritating. His inability to say "No" to a 17 year old temptress was incredibly annoying. The sight of the fading studs walking u the beach eyeing off pert young female flesh was annoying to say the least.

I didn't find it funny on the whole, though there were a couple of moments. Was killing the neighbour's dog instead of a wild boar meant to be funny? It wasn't.

I would not bother to seek this out at a cinema. Maybe a DVD on a rainy afternoon.
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1/10
Horribly dated, creepy titillating Lolita fluff. *spoilers*
Spellbinder88816 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
As a young woman I was nauseated to see how one dimensional the Louna character was and the whole premise was like something out of a bad 1970s exploitation film. I literally know and have never known any women or girls who exist like this creature Louna. She exists merely as a plot device fantasy object to titillate middle aged men who think they have a hope in hell of bedding a beautiful young 17 year old. It is creepy beyond belief and the fact that she would want to have sex with her dad's best friend with her dad nearby has a incestuous kind of undertone that I found repellent. Trust me, any normal girl does not want to be having sex with someone with her dad in the same house or nearby. The fact that it's her dad's old best friend she wants to bone is just so much worse.

At least the Marie character (the only convincing performance) calls her dad a pervert and her friend a slut for it, as any young girl would whose best friend sleeps with her old dad. He is said to be 45 in the film but Cassel looks older (because he is, he would have been late 40s when this was filmed). CLuzet's naff depiction of being an old pervert on the beach ogling young women's bums over his sunglasses didn't work at all. I wonder why he took this gig as he comes off as too respectable to be convincing as an old leering codger.

Cassel's character's feeble protestations at Louna's demented seduction techniques are pathetic and don't come off as comedy but bizarro tragedy.

Yeah avoid, at least I didn't pay to see this turd.

This film has absolutely no place in 2017. Gross.
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8/10
Totally watchable
joie_de_vivre18 November 2015
One of the best French movies I watched this summer.

Had to do it in chunks, though: the emotions were so overwhelming I had to stop my player every 15 minutes or so just to catch my breath.

I dunno, probably it's because of my age (about 50, male) that I relate so closely to that story.

Certain scenes and dialogs seem a bit exaggerated but that's French comedy for you. Snobish movie critics can boil their head but I don't regret for a minute that I spent well over two hours watching it; will recommend it to all my buddies.

On a side note: After seeing the movie, it would be probably a good idea to read the interview with Vincent Cassel (Paris Match #3449, Jun 25 - Jul 01, 2015, pp.9-11) where he talks about his character in that film.
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1/10
Waste of time
smithellie196631 August 2015
I can't believe how bad this movie is and how bad François Cluzet, George Bush look alike in it. A very annoying, phony, stupidly written and directed movie. I didn't even make it half way through before it almost put me to sleep. No character depth, I didn't connect or relate to the characters at all. Empty dialogs that lack true emotion. All actors were really bad, but François Cluzet was the worst. Unbelievable for a famous actor like him. I though he was not bad in The Untouchables. I generally enjoy French cinema, but they were following Hollywood steps lately producing junk after junk like this one or "Tu veux... ou tu veux pas?" for example.
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A totally waste of time
genesisoriana15 April 2017
The film has a weak start and ends the same. I don't know what was I expecting from that review. It's a silly story, predictable, it was only made with the finality of being liked. Generally, the performances were a mess, even the soundtrack was annoying. Sincerely, I don't recommend this movie, don't waste your time.
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2/10
Pfffffffff
kevinnszalonna24 February 2019
Don't waste your time with this movie. Totally commonplace, was invaluable and boring.
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8/10
Beautiful
wolfhell8826 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
A wonderful comedy and a typically french amour. Vincent Cassel and Francoise Cluzet as two fathers in their 40ies who spent their holidays with their teenage daughters in the sunny south of France.

First the daughters don't like the idea of spending their summer holidays in a house in the Provence but things change.

Lola Le Lann as Cluzets film daughter Louna is charming, beautiful, charismatic and a real wonderful actress with a great future in the business. Her character Louna fells in love with the best friend of her father (Cassel) after they spent a night on the beach together. While the elder man tries to forget what happened on the beach the girl is in love for the first time. She is wonderful when she tries to seduce Cassel and even her suffering after he rejects her in the next days is very much believable.

The funniest moments in this film has Francois Cluzet when he goes hunting the wild boars who ruin his garden but never gets them.

Alice Isaaz as Marie, Lounas best friend, gives also an impressive performance.

If you love funny and emotional films this one is a must-see!
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10/10
Great sense oh humour and very good acting
jimenanieto24 July 2018
I loved it! You need to know Corse and its habitants to understand some of the great moments of this movie, it may also lose part of its great dialogues in translation. Vincent Cassel is at its best.
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8/10
Hilarious!
lesley_6520 December 2023
I've watched this movie three times now, and each time it gets funnier. I liked the way the movie took its time to set the scene because you need to be quite tuned into the characters and the situation to enjoy how things unfold. I've always liked Vincent Cassel as an actor but have never seen him in a comic role; he was brilliant in this, really stole the show. His facial expressions were priceless and Francois Cluzet was his perfect sidekick. There were even a few more serious moments towards the end which I thought worked well and rang true. If you watch this with an open mind it's a lot of fun.
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