La pouponnière: A French Comedy That Stretches Too Thin

Wait, what was that about?

Honestly, you could probably skip this one unless you are a die-hard fan of French cinema from the thirties. It’s got that specific kind of frantic energy that feels like a party you weren't invited to but are still forced to sit through.

The whole thing revolves around a nursery, which sounds sweet, but it’s mostly just loud people shouting over each other. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Ladies in Love, but without the focus.

Some odd notes from my notebook

• The lighting in the second act is surprisingly dark, like they ran out of lightbulbs halfway through the shoot.
• Françoise Rosay is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, bless her heart.
• There’s a scene with a telephone that goes on for an eternity.
• The background extras in the street scenes clearly have nowhere to be.

I found myself staring at the wallpaper in one of the sets more than the actual dialogue. It’s got this weird floral pattern that I’m pretty sure I’ve seen in my grandmother’s house. Why does it look so dusty?

The movie gets noticeably better once it stops trying to be a farce and just lets the characters exist. But that only happens for about five minutes in the middle. Then it's right back to the door-slamming and the exaggerated eye-rolling. It’s exhausting, really.

It’s not quite as messy as The Arizona Romeo, but it’s close. You can almost feel the director hoping the audience wouldn't notice the plot holes. They are huge, by the way. You could drive a truck through them.

If you watch it, maybe have a drink ready. You’ll need it to get through the final twenty minutes, which feel like they were filmed in a different studio entirely. 🤷‍♂️