In honor of Father's Day, I cover a Film that my Dad likes...kind of. One of his favorite Films is the often-overlooked Comedy with Tom Hanks known as The Man with One Red Shoe. It was not a hit in Theaters, but is very much a Cult Film. Well, it is actually a Remake! Don't you just love learning things about Movies that you likely barely-remember? Of course, you do! The Plot involves intrigue, spies and a poor Violinist. When rivals in the 'Intelligence Agency' are feuding, a weird little man will get caught in the middle. If you don't know how these kinds of French Films work, just think of the silliest thing that could happen at any time. It is almost *always* then going to happen. It is not called Absurdist Comedy because it makes sense. This is all kinds of silly and features a Star that is arguably the biggest one from this Era, save for Gerard Depardieu. Don't Google what he's up to these days, by the way- you won't like the results. To find out how the French Version is, read on...
A man coming into France is caught with drugs. He insists that he was on a mission for the Intelligence Service.
A rival in the Agency is trying to oust the Chief and got caught in his dealings. Said Chief plots in secret to out the man and expose his misdeeds.
He makes sure to be recorded by his rival talking about an Agent coming into the Country the next day.
There is no Agent.
However, a Violinist is picked out because, well, he has one black shoe and one brown shoe. That must be a tell!
As such, they record him, track him and do all sorts of stuff to find out what he's up to.
There are probably worse ways to spend a day, but in 1970s Paris, there are also far better!
He goes through all sorts of shenanigans- like learning that they switched his toothpaste out with shampoo for some reason- as the Spies get more desperate.
They send one of their own to seduce him.
As hijinks ensue, so does some carnal relations...which is watched by the people on a screen...
The lady Spy falls for him and tries to help him, which keeps him just away from danger.
His friend- who came to get him for sleeping with his girlfriend- keeps spotting the aftermath of the in-fighting between the Spies, such as this room full of dead guys!
Ultimately, our Hero gets away from everything- still blissfully-unaware- as the spy games come to a head. The bad Spy learns that he was tricked and takes it pretty well.
He takes being shot less well, obviously.
In the aftermath, he escapes Paris for a while with the lady Spy. Aw, that's...a little strange, but alright. The End.
A wacky and silly time is had by all. These kinds of Movies really live or die based on one thing- balance. You need serious Characters alongside your goofy Characters. You need a serious-looking Scene that can turn goofy. In these ways, the Film works. Our Hero is lovable and silly, even if he is cheating on his best friend's girlfriend. That's considered being polite in France, I think. He manages to be charming in his silliness. He could have easily gone too far into being, well, Mr. Bean. It's a slight difference, but he manages it. The Plot itself is a simple set-up for lots of the aforementioned hijinks. The counterbalance of the serious Spies and the goofy Violinist keeps things moving nicely. All in all,
The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe is a fun Movie that manages to be just silly enough to work, but not so silly that its truly farcical. Plus it sets up a Sequel that I guess I have to track down now too. Ah, the things we do for our Parents.
Next time, a 2-part look at some undersea Horrors. If I need to save my breath, how will I get my writing done? Stay tuned...
No comments:
Post a Comment