Would I Lie To You Double Bill

This double-bill comprises the pair of French comedies 'Would I Lie to You?', and 'Would I Lie To You Again?' Find out what Paz makes of them below!

Would I Lie To You? -

Eddie Vuibert (Richard Anconina), is down on his luck and loses his last francs, stung, in a three card trick game. Irate, he snatches his cash and runs, chased by the con men. Through a happy accident he is rescued and his rescuer mistakes him for "one of our own..." a Jew. The plot then expands as our hero is offered a job in the family firm, rapid promotion, a hilarious Sabbat meal with his workmate and best friend Dov, and a crush on the boss' daughter.

This is essentially a romcom, and if it were in English I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it so much.

However, the microcosm of the French Jewish culture, specifically the Garment District is enticingly opened up, from the point of view of an outsider who is desperately trying to fake his way in this alien world. Vuibert's deception is paralleled by Dov who is screwing his mate's girlfriend - they keep it a secret because he's a bit of a rogue, and it might mess up a business deal.

Patrick the moneybags of the gang with a supermodel girlfriend, is cuckolded by Serge (Jose Garcia), the class clown. So alongside the comedy of embarrassment, (often painfully acute as when Vuibert calls the Rabbi "Mon Pere", or Father, as you would address a priest) there is a subtle sideways look at questions of honesty and the moral judgements we make when we lie, actively and by omission.

The cast give a good ensemble performance and the plot is engaging above the cliched love stories which we are fairly sure will result in a happy ending. All of the ladies are played by beautiful French actresses, you see why the guys are crazy about them, but they are solid, motivated, characters in their own right, not just eye candy, as is too often the case in Hollywood movies. If you want a few laughs from a movie that your mom will like too this is worth a look, if she's good with subtitles or speaks French, of course.

Would I Lie To You Again? -

In this sequel to Would I Lie To You all the characters from the original movie are brought back, played by the same cast with the exception of Dov who is now played by Gad Elmaleh. A couple of years have gone by and children are on the scene. Vuibert is running a successful company of his own and la vie seems tres belle. In an attempt to expand into the mass market Vuibert is stung by the boss of a hypermarket chain. He and his cronies deceive our hero, and stiff him in the courts, before releasing his designs as their own, after reducing him to selling on a market stall. Vuibert vows revenge.

With a new actor assaying the role (Gad Elmaleh), Dov ceases to be a charming rogue and becomes a bit of an asshole. This provokes his girl, and the mother of his child to play away from home with Dov's best pal. Patrick the millionaire cousin takes Dov on holiday to the States, so Serge pretends to be a millionaire playboy, rather than the house-sitter and delivery boy he actually is. He pulls a beautiful girl and she wants to get married. The scene with the parents meeting, each under the assumption that the other father in law is a bit dotty, in order to cover Serge's, lies is very funny.

Unlike most sequels this can hold its own with the original, due in large part to the quality of the writing and strength of the interwoven plots. It is a shame that Dov was played by a different actor as, an opinion I share with my flatmate, he was my favourite character from the first film. The characters drive the film, the rogue, the leader, the clown, the wallet, with equally strong performances from the ladies playing their respective partners.