A Pain in the Ass (L'emmerdeur) (2008)
-
63% of critics liked it
(8 reviews) -
44% of users liked it
(76 ratings)
A man saves the life of a stranger and lives to regret it in this dark comedy from France. Jean (Richard Berry) is a hired killer who has checked himself into a Paris hotel as he waits to complete his latest assignment -- Randoni (Michel Aumont), a former mob boss turned police informant, is going… More A man saves the life of a stranger and lives to regret it in this dark comedy from France. Jean (Richard Berry) is a hired killer who has checked himself into a Paris hotel as he waits to complete his latest assignment -- Randoni (Michel Aumont), a former mob boss turned police informant, is going to testify again his old colleagues in court, and Jean is supposed to rub out Randoni before he gets a chance to talk. However, while the chatty mobster is staying in the same hotel as Jean, so is Francois (Patrick Timsit), a press photographer covering the case. Nerdy Francois has just discovered his wife Louise (Virginie Ledoyen) is dumping him in favor of her analyst, Dr. Wolf (Pascal Elbe), and Francois is so depressed he's decided to kill himself. However, Francois' suicide attempt goes ridiculously wrong, and Jean is forced to intervene against his better judgment. Now Jean finds himself playing babysitter to an increasingly melodramatic Francois as his window of opportunity for knocking off Randoni is running out. L'emmerdeur (aka A Pain In The Ass) is a remake of a French comedy of the same name released in 1973; the original version was directed by Edouard Molinaro, while Francis Verber, who wrote the script for the 1973 film, also directed the remake. (Billy Wilder directed an American remake of the same story, Buddy Buddy, released in 1981.) ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Rating, Runtime
- Unrated, 1 hr. 24 min.
- Directed By
- Laurent Paolini, Francis Veber
- Written By
- Francis Veber
- Genres
- Art House & International, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Dec 10, 2008 Wide
- On DVD
- Aug 4, 2009
Critic Reviews
-
Simon Foster, sbs.com.au
L'emmerdeur (A Pain In The Ass) goes through the motions smoothly, even lazily, providing increasingly-intermittent smirks rather than genuine belly laughs.
-
David Stratton, At the Movies (Australia)
The English title, I'm afraid, sums up the film.
-
Mark Demetrius, FILMINK (Australia)
Alas, not for a minute does the viewer care about any character, though admittedly it's mildly diverting and intermittently funny -- and occasionally blackly or incongruously so.
-
George Palathingal, Sydney Morning Herald
Without being in the same league as last year's brilliant In Bruges, the comedy here sometimes comes from a deliciously dark place.
-
Julie Rigg, MovieTime, ABC Radio National
I never saw the original, I can only dimly remember the Billy Wilder version but hey, it works well enough to deliver quite a few laughs.
Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
Now you can share movies with your friends on Facebook!
- Discover movies your friends are watching
- Keep track of what you want to see
- Add your reviews to your Timeline
