So far so good (TMC) – Gilles Lellouche: "Malik Bentalha is a kind of Bourvil."

According to the famous physicist Albert Einstein, “It is easier to split an atom than a prejudice”. Without an IQ of 160 like him, all the characters in this cute social comedy by Mohamed Hamidi (The Cow) will make it. “Destroying prejudices without being judged… my whole approach is there. “Explains the filmmaker, who in another life was an economics teacher in the suburbs where he always lived. On my right is Fred Bartel (Gilles Lellouche), boss of Happy Few, Paris’ elite communications agency. The charismatic CEO to you and you, but not super square with the tax authorities, Bartel is forced to transfer his offices to the free zone in 93 if he wants to avoid a deadly tax regulation. It’s like he was talking about a setup in a war zone when he announced it to his team! To my left, residents of the city of Seine-Saint-Denis are very pleased to see a box that collects young people from the neighborhood. It would be a lie to say that they are not a priori either. On both sides of the freeway, prejudices die hard. Samy, a dog sitter who fears his own hound, is immediately recruited by Fred to bring his teams and the public closer together.

Comedian Malik Bentalha serves this extremely endearing character. ” Samy is a funny boy, kind, affectionate, shy, offended by girls. Malik is a bit like “Says Hamidi, who directed and co-wrote their first show, the role under his auspices. ” By connecting the two cultures, Samy realizes that this is an opportunity for him to reveal himself on both a professional and human level. ‘ says the actor. The showman’s comic screw illuminates this modern tale ingrained in the vein of British social comedies. Here, too, humor lightly illuminates the galleys of everyday life.

Far from cartoons…

Some may criticize the film for its “Protection Month” vision of the neighborhoods. Title so far so good also a nod to La Haine, Mathieu Kassovitz’s absolute reference for suburban fiction. Hamidi explains: I feel like there are only two ways to film the suburbs. We either show realistic stories of drug dealers, cops, violence… or clown and cartoon suburbs. I wanted to be in both. Even though I’m on the comedy side, my characters and all the situations are realistic. “Gilles Lellouche didn’t need to force his nature into this role. ” Like Fred, I love the collective. “And to add:” It is a peace film advocating harmony and social cohesion. We really need it. As for the pas de deux with bentalha, the icing on the cake: Malik is an actor I admire. A kind of Bourvil that is a very strong part of childhood. The scene where Samy takes shelter in Fred’s car to escape his bad habits is hilarious. It’s like hiring workers from the city. Feel-good cinema, you can’t refuse.

So good so far: Sunday, August 7th at 20:45 on TMC

Julien Barcilon