Review of Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953) by Kurt F — 05 Dec 2009

This is supposed to be an "all-time classic comedy," according to the general review on Facebook, but I was bored because there was no story. As clever as it may be, I think you need a story to hold interest for a feature film. The entire film is a series of sight gags and other comedic gimmicks, with many of them being quite effective and amusing, while others didn't work for me. Nothing was funny enough to elicit any real laughs. I do appreciate the pacing, the photography, and the overall accomplishment of making such a silly movie and resisting any kind of story or character development.

It's better to watch Charlie Chaplin, a real master. "The Great Dictator" is a real comedy classic, with a strong story along with Chaplin's ingenious gags intertwined. For me, if "Mr. Hulot" had some kind of through-line instead of just gimmicks, it could have been something special. Or maybe if the gimmicks were more ambitious and funnier.

The highlight for me - and this will be hard to explain if you have not seen the film - was the sound of the restaurant kitchen door opening, which was happening constantly in the kitchen scenes. Every time it opened, it would make a weird sound, and this happened over and over and over again. I once read that you if you do something - anything - a certain number of times - something like 145 times - it will be funny. No matter what it is. And there was something about that door sound in which I thought, "This is a very very slow build to a laugh. At some point, this will be funny." It didn't quite get there, but it's an ambitious mark to hit in comedy.