Laughing at the movies: still a protest act?

«There's no such thing as a comic film that isn't a protest film; you can't make a charming comic film.» These were the words spoken by one of cinema's greatest comic figures, Jacques Tati, in his 1979 interview with Cahiers du cinéma. Today, however, comic cinema seems to have gone over the edge: to be a protest film, it has to be charming. Analysis.

The «Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu?» saga provokes scandal with each new film for the outspoken racism of its characters. Philippe Lacheau's team, from another generation, is accused of homophobia. Les Tuche never fails to provoke the usual uproar with each new film, accused of class contempt. And what place does Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, our famous OSS117, still have with women today? The film itself questioned its own limits, and was quick to create a number of new ideas.