studioAT
With a plot not that dissimilar to that of 'Enchanted' years later, this was a French film that did well that got adapted for a US audience.It also has a screenplay part credited to the legend that is John Hughes of 'Breakfast Club' fame.Not that you'd know it sadly. This film isn't actually that funny, or as clever as it likes to think it is, wasting a good performance from Jean Reno in the progress. Think of obvious jokes that you could imagine happening in this film about knights somehow winding up in the US, and you'll most likely see them.There is a clear sense that John Hughes was phoning this one in, sadly.
SnoopyStyle
Thibault Malféte (Jean Reno) is a pompous French knight with a disgusting idiot squire André Le Paté (Christian Clavier) in the n12th century. He is getting married to English Princess Rosalind (Christina Applegate). His enemy tries to stop the wedding by giving the princess a hallucinogen. He accidentally takes it instead and kills the princess in a delusional state. He gets help from a wizard (Malcolm McDowell) to transport him back in time to fix his mistake. Instead, it goes wrong and he's sent to a modern day Chicago museum run by Dr. Brady (George Plimpton) and curated by Julia (Christina Applegate). Julia assumes he's her lost presumed-dead cousin. Her boyfriend Hunter (Matt Ross) is selling his estate and having an affair with Amber (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras). Andre falls for kind-hearted Angelique (Tara Reid).Jean Reno is really off-putting in this movie. He is really annoying for a lead. One of the problems is his attitude. He treats Andre like crap. He is arrogant. He is an idiot but not a lovable idiot. The whole movie is aggressively annoying. Jean Reno may not be the right person to do this role. At the very least, transplanting a French comedy should come with a warning.
Python Hyena
Just Visiting (2001): Dir: Jean-Marie Gaubert / Cast: Jean Reno, Christian Clavier, Christina Applegate, Malcolm McDowell, Tara Reid: Comedy about the differences in generations as Jean Reno and Christian Clavier are transported through time to the present. Reno plays a Count and Clavier plays his loyal servant. Reno is set to marry the Princess but he is given a drink that causes him to become disoriented and he accidentally kills her. He is sentenced to death until a wizard transports them to present day where they encounter a woman who resembles the Princess. Reno claims that he must find a wizard so that he can be transported to the moment before he was given the drink. Typical plot follows the duo's mishaps with present day. Director Jean-Marie Gaubert is backed by fine comic chemistry between Reno and Clavier. They are given many hilarious moments as they struggle to adapt to present day. Reno must restore his position, and Clavier finds freedom. Malcolm McDowell as the wizard begins with the pitiful time travel introduction but from there he steals scenes with many amusing moments. Only Christina Applegate in duo roles is left with double the cardboard as both the Princess and the lookalike female. Tara Reid is also featured and this counts as yet another decline since her success in American Pie. This is a totally recycled slapstick visit. Score: 5 ½ / 10
rlschina
My brother and I went to this movie and we were the only people in the theater. We laughed so hard I had to go outside of the theater. I thought I was going to pee in my pants it was so funny. I can't say enough about it. Leave your high falutin' film-going skills at the door and laugh. Go. Jean Reno is great both as a romantic character and as a comedian, but when you think of Leon or Ronin, you remember that he could definitely play for laughs. Christian Clavier is hilarious and excellent comedic actor who is unknown to the general US public. Finally, Applegate does some good work playing the straight man/woman. Finally, what was an interesting approach was to take a successful foreign comedy and redo it in the USA. But, they used the same director and actors. It translated well which is unusual for comedies- much harder to cross cultures.
AD
