ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

SimonJack What a delightful French comedy. I agree with those reviewers who complemented the producers on the excellent job with the English subtitles. I'm sure that we miss some of the nuances in the spoken dialogs; but I found much humor in the subtitles as done. I don't have sufficient knowledge left from university-learned French and short trips to the Riviera when stationed in the military decades ago to be able to follow the normal dialog in a film. So, having the subtitles sold the movie to me. This is a very good story about people, stereotypes and how our misconceptions can be so wrong and hurt one's understanding of different cultures – even in regions within one's own country. We Americans especially should realize that cultural differences exist between regions of all of the larger European countries – especially France, Germany, Italy and Spain. So, besides the comedy, I found the exploration of this theme very interesting for France. The scenes of the towns, countryside and coast in the far north of France were interesting. It was in this area – from Lille to the English Channel 40 miles (64 km) away, that the major French and British forces were surrounded by superior German units in May 1940. That ended with the Battle of Dunkirk and heroic rescue of 330,000 troops across the channel to England. Of course, Calais is also not far from there, and that's where the German's had concentrated their strength to defend against an Allied invasion from across the English Channel. The land sailing scene was very interesting with Phillipe (played very well by Kad Merad) and Antoine (played very well by Dany Boon). That beach scene must have been shot somewhere close to Dunkirk or Calais.In America, it's common for people to travel across country, East to West, North to South, and all directions in between. So, it may seem odd that people of southern France should have such a misconception about the climate and weather in the northern part of their country. The movie dispels all of that for the audience. The scenes in the early part of the movie are hilarious. Philippe and his family dread the severe cold he will have to endure, and his son Raphael worried that his day may lose his toes. At first I thought this was intentional exaggeration for the humor, but when Phillipe's wife Julie (played very well by Zoe Felix) buys him a heavy padded winter coat, I wondered if many people in the south of France didn't take such things for real. So, out of curiosity I did some climate comparisons between Aix-en- Provence and Lille, France. The horizontal distance between the two communities is about 500 miles (800 km). The latitude difference is about 7 degrees from about 30.5 to 43.5 North. The average high and low temperatures for the month of July at Provence are 84 and 64 degrees F. For the same month, the average high and low at Lille is 75 and 57 F. The spread is very close – 20 degrees difference at Provence and 18 degrees different at Lille. But what is most interesting is the difference between the two locales for high and low. Provence averages 7 to 9 degree F warmer during July than Lille. But there is even much less difference during the winter. The average high and low for January at Provence are 52 and 36 F. They are 45 and 36 F at Lille. The difference between the high temperatures for January at Provence and Lille is only 7 degrees F. And there is no difference between the average low for the two locales. Both places average 36 F for the low during January. So, if the people in Lille would lose their toes to the cold, so would the people of Provence. The disparity from high to low in January is greater at Provence – 16 degrees F. For Lille, the disparity is only 9 degrees F. The annual disparity from lowest to highest average is greatest for Provence. The average difference is 48 degrees F. That for Lille is just 39 degrees F. I didn't check precipitation or sunlight, but on the basis of temperature swings alone, Lille in the North has a more moderate climate than does Provence in the South. This is based on data taken off the Internet on January 19, 2015. I looked for some comparisons in the U.S., but most with exact distances (about 500 miles or 800 kilometers), had major geographic or climate differences that gave far different results. For instance, New Orleans to St. Louis is about 600 horizontal miles (960 km) with a latitude difference of about 70 – the same as between Provence and Lillie, France. But the average high temperatures for July are the same for New Orleans and St. Louis – 90 degrees F. The average lows for July are 76 and 71 degrees F, respectively. The winter temperatures vary the most. The average January high at New Orleans is 62 and at St. Louis it's 38. That's a disparity of 24 degrees F. The average low for January is even more – 47 at New Orleans and 21 at St. Louis. For a 26-degree F spread. So, it's much colder – and truly freezing in January to go from New Orleans to St. Louis in the U.S., than it is for French people to go from Provence to Lille. And remember, St. Louis is hardly in the North of the U.S. While France overall is at a more northern latitude than is the U.S., its climate and temperature ranges are more moderate from region to region. I just thought some French movie buffs might find that a little interesting. This is a good and most enjoyable film. I heartily recommend it.

Kalle_it "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis" is a nice comedy, but to be honest it's kinda hard understanding how it managed to become such a huge hit, considering the basic plot has been done zillions of times already.Basically it's the good old "they sound different, they look different but in the end they're just like us!" chiché. Sure the misunderstanding between the main character and the townsfolk are funny, especially the conversation about the furniture, but then again it's not nearly enough to sustain the whole movie. The thing is: many of us have experienced some sort of culture shock, be it in the same country or abroad, but the movie just glosses over the two long years the main character had to spend among the Ch'tis... It's as if he had gone over the whole language/cultural issue in a matter of a month or so and from there onwards it was all fine and dandy... Besides the drunken delivery day, and the over-the-top "welcome to the horror" shenanigans to convince the wife Bergues was a disgusting place, there's no reason to actually "see" how well the main character and the Ch'tis bonded. It's all left to our imagination, or it's more or less a given... after all the Ch'tis are nice people so there's no need to actually prove it on-screen. We got the wholesome message, and it's OK, but what about giving us some actual reason to care more?It's a shame because the premise could have offered for more and less traditional developments. All in all a nice little comedy, but nothing overly new. This time around it was about Northern Frenchmen speaking a weird dialect/language, but it could have been about Hillbilies, Guidos, Texans, Northern Norwegians, Bavarians etc... Or Southern Italians, as in the even more stereotyped remake "Benvenuti al Sud"...

R. Ignacio Litardo I laughed out loud with this move, and certainly, I didn't expect it.Sometimes we forget how important it is to have a good plot. Nothing turns out badly, but there are some happy surprises. The best is how the Ch'Tis play on the "brute, simple, vulgar" stereotype to their advantage. It'd be a crime to say more. Witness the "cat as food", spitting, Philippe's appalling house decoration.Another thing I liked it is that they don't "become" somebody else. I mean, in the end you see people turn out and behave as what they are. The Abrams are not Ch'Tis, and they are wary of outsiders. I'm not saying anything important, but I think sociologically it makes it more valuable and respectful. It has the perfect moderate amount of conflict for making it interesting besides the "chic vs coarse" theme. Antoine's induced alcoholism, his love interest for Annabelle, his overbearing but loving "maman", Julie's neurosis, always finding fault at everything Philippe does, him lying all the time, finally for no reason.Kad Merad is one of the best comedy actors I've ever seen. He's got a natural talent for mimicking and copying all their local pronunciation, accents, and even ways of having fun. His scam with "neurological twitching" included was masterful.Dany Boon is of course perfect, his face says it all. They have good talks despite being utterly different. Great scene of male friendship, that form of art, at the beach and "not crying" later. His two sidekicks steal the show. Even their way of dressing is just perfect. Both young women of the film are beautiful, specially Anne Marivin, always bustling with activity. I'd have liked Zoé Félix to have more to say than just grouch and be a pain, until her nice acknowledgment near the end (that she may also have something to do with all this). The funny copper Patrick Bosso has one of those vital small roles that differentiate a good from a great film. Notice how the speed at which he drives is a function of Philippe's moods :).Line Renaud, from "Le silence de l'épervier" (TV) among others, is beautiful as an intrusive and contradictory (witness Anabelle's face at the post office, the only time they "speak") mum who, in a way, "only wants the best for her sun", but harasses poor Antoine following him to his dead end job with food and constantly fearing he'd be ill but, her serious talk with him was so matter-of-fact, (while peeling potatoes, mind you!) that his face of relief afterwards is worth the price of the ticket. If you have family or friends in the province, you've probably feel as Philippe does. They are wary, probably will give you a couple headaches with their "sense of humour" and yes, they "eat strangely", but with their heart and warmth they'll probably more than make up for it.Try to follow their French. I'd say 60% of the fun is there. It's carefully geared so as for you to "learn the codes". They even teach you how to speak and "translate" the language, twice. Which consists of letter replacement and pronunciation as well as particles that just "don't mean anything", social rules "they invite you in when you drop by", and even intonation (the "from the guts" interjection in the end). In short, if you play moderate attention you'll end up speaking like' em. Or at least, understanding it perfectly and using its funny way of speaking outside the cinema. I suppose it's a matter of why and how we learn. They are SO friendly and honest, these people, that you end up wanting them. And when you feel safe and in company, you learn twice, right :)!"dbdumonteil" on IMDb as usual, wrote a great review, I won't touch on the topics he did.I'm very glad that this film is a commercial success. I also liked the latest Asterix iteration, but this one probably has more humane content. Here in Argentina we can't be so picky about European/ French cinema. What comes is little and far between, so one just watches everything. This, with "Le diner des cons" is probably the best French comedy I've seen. The "Les Bronzés" series was also smashing, but it somehow lacked "somebody to identify with". Something this film has plenty of.Wisely it doesn't even touch social issues like unemployment and redneck political views. Consequently, achieving a bigger, almost universal "market share".Enjoy!

TallGuy Finally we went to see this movie on the (not-so) big screen of a local art-house cinema. I definitely enjoyed it, but it's nothing truly special. The humour ranged from predictable to quite funny, avoiding boredom. Some slightly deeper themes were touched on lightly. The actors were decent, especially the two male leads, but largely restricted to typecast roles. While at first the jokes about the prejudices and clichés within France are funny enough, I would have preferred a slightly more subtle treatment. On the positive side, the movie has no delusions of grandeur, it tells its simple story in a nice straight forward way. I guess some of its enormous success in France stems from the fact that for once we don't have Parisians as main characters but everyday people from 'France profonde'.All in all, more a pleasant rosé, nice to drink but not really lasting, than a premier cru.