Father and Guns (Émile Gaudreault, 2009): Canada

Reviewed by Nicholas Berquist.  Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

The very first thing you notice about Émile Gaudreault’s Father and Guns is this film feels like Hollywood.  The Quebec Government funds the film industry in their province and they definitely shelled out a few loonies for this picture.

The production value is evident right off the bat.  As the film begins we see sweeping, swooping shots of the Montreal rooftops and on one in particular, a team of super cops.  The pacing of the film, unlike most foreign films, is right on par with the quick rapid pace we are accustomed to from Hollywood.  Marc LaRoche (Louis-Jose Houde) is the son of legendary detective Jacques LaRoche (Michel Cote) and the two are at constant odds, even from the first scene.  After their undercover, rooftop operation leads to the kidnapping of Marc’s friend they must tread carefully hoping a misstep wont lead to the death of the kidnapped officer.

Their only hope lies in Charles Berube.  He is the lawyer for the biker gang holding Marc’s friend hostage, and he also suffers from a mid-life crisis.  Berube’s wife wants him to reconnect with their suicidal son so she sends both of them to a father-son bonding camp.  This is the perfect opportunity for Marc and Jacques to offer Berube a deal alone.  Unfortunately, the drawback is Marc and Jacques can’t survive each other in a city.  Sending these two out into the wilderness and forcing them to work as a team is a surefire recipe for disaster.

Even though this is a French-Canadian film everything about the story translates to our language and culture.  For the most part, foreign comedies aren’t as funny in America.  Whether the jokes don’t translate as well or we just have different senses of humor, generally they just aren’t as good.  That is not the case with Father and Guns.  This film is downright hilarious.  When the fathers and sons first arrive for the bonding camp they select dolls from a bin that represent their respective family member.  This is one of those rare scenes when you don’t get to see everything because it’s so funny you can’t see through the tears.

This genre I also believe is a very American genre.  Crime dramas are popular all over the world, but crime comedies are a more domestic concoction, a la Observe and Report and Paul Blart: Mall Cop.  Gaudreault’s was able to really explore all genres in this film so perhaps a crime comedy isn’t the best description but it certainly encapsulates what this film is about.  There aren’t any sad scenes and the ones that are supposed to be emotional have a goofy, sarcastic undertone.  The film is somewhat touching for those young men out there with oppressive fathers.  Houde and Cote have wonderfully chemistry and really portray the relationship these two men have quite well.

The only setback for this otherwise great film is the predictability.  This may be more of a byproduct of being an avid Hollywood film viewer, but the film does have a sense of predictability.  The comedic writing is superb, but the story unfolds rather slowly and the ending happens all at once.  Not to mention it’s a no-brainer how this story will end.  Hollywood loves happy endings and that is a big reason why this film will be under intense scrutiny to determine whether or not it is a viable option for a remake.  In my opinion, Gaudreault did as fine a job as any director could have.