Les beaux gosses (The French Kissers) (2009)

Critic Reviews

• Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter

  The John Hughes-style teen comedy has been revived in France. The French Kissers is funny because it rings true, in any language.

• Jordan Mintzer, Variety

  A zits-and-all portrait of the weird, wild and incredibly awkward time of adolescence, Gallic laffer "The French Kissers" plants plenty of heart-wrenching gags right in the smacker.

• Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews

  ...costar Noémie Lvovsky ("Actresses") is a hysterical high point as Hervé's mom who has an unflappable interest in his sex life whether it be singular or plural.

• Sean Axmaker, Parallax View

  If there is a message... it's that boys are dumb, self-involved, insensitive and more obsessed with the idea of sex than the reality of it.

• Paul Byrnes, Sydney Morning Herald

  The script covers the same things as most teen movies -- getting together, breaking up, being horrible, making up, yelling at your parents -- but Sattouf makes it fresh with credible performances from these non-actors.

• Ben McEachen, Empire Magazine Australasia

  A welcome departure from the usual type of Frenchy fare we receive, here be a hip, acne-tastic lesson about teens and their hot pants.

• Lynden Barber, Limelight

  Writer-director Riad Sattouf focuses on the sheer awkwardness of the mid-teenage years, wryly capturing the maturity gap when most girls seem about three years ahead of their male peers.

• Leigh Paatsch, Herald Sun (Australia)

  The French Kissers is much, much more than just Superbad with subtitles. First-time filmmaker Riad Sattouf, a leading light in French comic-book circles, proves himself to be a knockout talent behind the camera.

• Jake Wilson, The Age (Australia)

  How many teen comedies do you see where the hero is troubled by pimples -- and not just a token few? That's an early sign that Riad Sattouf's funny first feature isn't going to play by the rules.

• Giles Hardie, smh.com.au

  Those who feel subtitles inherently mean a dull night at the cinema, would be well advised to try French Kissers or as it should be known France 90210.

• David Stratton, At the Movies (Australia)

  First-time director Riad Sattouf, known in France for his comic strips, clearly knows his subject in this pimples-and-all foray into the tumultuous lives of young, hormone-enraged teenagers.

• Nick Dent, Time Out Sydney

  French cinema has a new coming-of-age classic to go alongside Au Revoir les Enfants and The 400 Blows.

• Anders Wotzke, Moviedex

  Squeamishly forthright and deliberately rough-around-the-edges, Sattouf's film humorously captures the weird, wonderful and often humiliating stages of adolescence.

• Brendan Kelly, Montreal Gazette

  Sattouf captures that strange mix of bravado and shyness that is teenage guy-dom, and the result is both frequently hilarious and, finally, quite touching.

• Mike Goodridge, Screen International

  A notable directorial debut for comic book writer Riad Sattouf, this French teen sex comedy possesses a nice blend of humour and intelligence that places it somewhere between American Pie and Wild Reeds.

• Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile

  Written in the ink of painful experience, Raid Sattouf's screenplay rests his humour on reality; like Absolutely Fabulous the material is serious to the point of tragedy. These characters survive emotionally by the skin of their teeth; a few don't

• Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile

  an expressive ode to the awkward sexual awakening of a teenage boy, zits and all. There's no slick plot, no prince charming on a white horse, just the bumpy, every day reality of a fourteen year old boy whose thoughts are consumed by sex and girls

Read all 17 critic reviews