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The Barbecue

1993 48m Drama List
Reviews 43% Audience Score 100+ Ratings
A young woman fights to rein in her temper as she deals with the racism of her boyfriend's family. Read More Read Less

Critics Reviews

View All (4) Critics Reviews
Nicolas Rapold New York Times Mr. Wilson's Antoine is too much of a pill to root for, and the voice-over and wispy songs dribbling over scenes only underline the forgettable filmmaking. Dec 26, 2014 Full Review Nick Schager Village Voice Lavaine's midlife-crisis dramedy piles on dreary subplots involving Antoine's grating pals and their one-dimensional romantic and/or financial problems, but his material is unfunny and superficial to the point of inertia. Dec 23, 2014 Full Review Mike McCahill Guardian It's all too easy to imagine an ITV primetime version starring one Glenister or another, and it wouldn't be any less skippable. Rated: 2/5 Sep 18, 2014 Full Review Avi Offer NYC Movie Guru Breezy, harmless, mildly amusing and uplifting with a charismatic ensemble cast. Rated: 7/10 Dec 27, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (7) audience reviews
Audience Member Le film n'est pas un chef-d'oeuvre du 7e, mais agréable. Une, somme toute, assez sympathique histoire sur l'amitié, les mensonges, les silences... C'est léger et ça ne se prend pas la tête. Le groupe d'amis est attachant et les décors de la maison de campagne sont splendides. Du cinéma parfait pour un samedi soir tranquille. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Nothing like a great set of friends who will stand by you, no matter what. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review jesse o The type of film that was probably more fun to shoot than it was to actually watch. It's not what I would call a bad movie, or even a boring one, though it might seem to a more 'casual' viewing audience, it's just one that reeks of massive self-indulgence. We criticize Adam Sandler because a lot of his films are really just paid vacations for him and his buddies, and he's admitted to this. And, in some ways, that's what this film feels like. I have no idea whether the director cast his friends in this film, I have no knowledge of Eric Lavaine's career and his casting process, so I wouldn't know. Then again, to be fair, the entire idea of the film is for these characters are actually on vacation after Antoine's heart attacks prompts him to enjoy his life's excesses and to avoid being so careful about everything. So, in that regard, it works like it is intended. But, by and large, the film's narrative is fairly lackadaisical in its approach. There's nothing here to be honest. Antoine's friends all have their own little one-dimensional subplots, but they don't really delve into anything too deep. I will say that the film does have some insight into long friendships and how, at a certain point, you just grow bored with life. I think those are the only moments where the film showed some insight into what it must be like to be 50 in this day and age, at least for Antoine and his friends. The cast is at least quite good here. There's a certain connection between all of them that makes it feel like they've all been friends for as long as they say they have. This is, obviously, the most important aspect of the film. And there are some fairly funny moments, all things considered. The setting itself, the house where they have their little two week vacation is absolutely beautiful with a great view, so there's that. But that hardly amounts to much in the long run. Don't get me wrong, when a film is about a vacation, it certainly helps a lot, but it doesn't add one bit to the entire narrative or bottom line of the film. With that said, one thing that works to the film's benefit is that it is so easy to watch. Light, breezy and somewhat charming, depending on what you thought of it. Like I can't complain about this film in that regard. It was easy to watch and I was never driven mad by the film's narrative, acting or approach to its story. It might not be exactly fun, or somewhat interesting at times, but it does have some highlights mixed in with some more bland moments. The cast is solid enough and there's some moments where it shows genuine insight. But, as I mentioned in the beginning of the review, it's not the type of film that I would call all that much fun to watch. It looked fun to make, that's for sure. You can do much worse than this though. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I enjoyed watching this for glimpses of the French countryside and a slice of life story of middle aged friends coping with affairs, divorce, aging, and financial insecurity. Their friendships are tested among bottles of rare wines, a gorgeous villa, and mid life crisis. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Thoroughly enjoyed this Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member An actor's delight: loads of room for caracter acting with witty dialogue in this satiric comedy about the lives & loves of upper middle class French couples who spend a lot of their spare time partying. A few oddball laughs such as when the only SINGLE member of the group of friends unwittingly grabs a bottle of Chateau Petrus (at $1500Ã,Ã,¬$3000 a shot!) & uses it as the base for a Sangria he happily offers to the admiring group until the true nature of the Red Wine is revealed. Lambert Wilson is outstanding as the antihero, ably supported by Franc Dubosc & Florence Foresti. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Barbecue

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Movie Info

Synopsis A young woman fights to rein in her temper as she deals with the racism of her boyfriend's family.
Director
Winston Washington Moxam
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
48m