After the box-office success locally of Bon Cop, Bad Cop, there is now a will in the Quebec Province to replicate the success of the funny crime thrillers, which have been so popular and successful in Hollywood (Lethal Weapons, Rush Hours, Bad Boys and so many more). Basically, mix some action and fun scenes and make a product that's not meant to be taken entirely seriously.
Unfortnately, where Bon Cop, Bad Cop shined with a cool cinematography, evocative characters personified by great actors with chemistry and scenes that were hilarious, De Père en flic has little of that. Louis-José Houde is simply not credible as a cop, and is simply not as funny in a full role as he could be in a cameo or as a stand-up comedian. Michel Côté is better but has very little to work with. Rémy Girard is a wonderful actor but here, seems to go through the motion and repeat his character from "Les Boys". Finally, the very pretty Caroline Dhavernas is totally lacking any credibility as a cop and annoys us with her wooden acting. Her lack of chemistry with Houde also kills their romance.
The actual crime plot and story? Completely ludicrous and cliché. The writing and direction fails to engage the viewers at any point in the story. In most movies of the genre, it is good to remember we often know how it's going to end, the point of these films is to make the ride enjoyable by creating cool action scenes, poignant moments and of course, making us laugh at times.
This film fails. And if it wasn't a local product, the rating would be closer to the 5 it deserves. I suspect a lot of reviewers are being nicer because of the local factor and that just doesn't cut it with me.
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