Le coucher de la mariée Review: A Delightfully Messy 1930s Marriage Mix-up

If you have a soft spot for dusty, fast-talking French bedroom comedies from the early sound era, Le coucher de la mariée is absolutely worth your time tonight. But if you get annoyed by silly misunderstandings where characters could easily fix everything by just talking for two seconds, you will probably throw your remote at the screen. 🤷‍♂️

The setup is incredibly goofy. Claude is madly in love with Gisèle, and Raymonde is all over Édouard.

But due to some truly absurd double mix-up, Claude and Raymonde end up actually getting married to each other instead. I still don't quite get how they signed the official papers without noticing, but hey, that's 1930s cinema for you.

They make a strict pact: no funny business on the honeymoon night. They plan to just wait for a quick divorce and then marry their real sweethearts.

Of course, putting two attractive, witty people in a fancy hotel room with a single bed and telling them not to fall in love is like putting a cat in front of a fishbowl.

The hotel room set has this wonderfully tacky, over-decorated look. It feels very cozy but also kind of claustrophobic, like a stage play where the actors might accidentally knock over a lamp.

There is this one scene where Marguerite Pierry (playing Raymonde) keeps adjusting her nightgown, and the way she sighs is just so funny. She has this incredibly expressive face that does all the comedic heavy lifting.

It kind of reminds me of the chaotic wedding energy in The Two Brides, though this one is much more French and cheeky.

The actors talk so fast it feels like they are running out of air. Jean Weber plays Claude with this nervous, twitchy energy that makes you want to shake him.

At times, the script feels like it was written in a single weekend. Some jokes just kind of land with a quiet thud, and then the characters just move on to the next room like nothing happened.

It has that same loose, almost improvised feel you find in old physical comedy shorts like Plastered - A Comedy Interlude.

I love how the movie doesn't even try to explain how the families let this wedding happen. Everyone just accepts the chaos.

There is a side character, some uncle or father figure played by Pierre Juvenet, who just wanders around looking confused. He is literally me watching the first twenty minutes of this plot.

But then, the honeymoon night actually starts.

The mood shifts from frantic shouting to this weird, quiet tension. You can tell they are both secretly attracted to each other, but they are too proud to admit it first.

It is very cute, actually. The way she looks at him when his back is turned is probably the best part of the whole film.

Some scenes go on a bit too long. Like, we get it, they are sleeping on separate chairs, we don't need five minutes of them adjusting pillows and grunting.

But honestly, the chemistry between Weber and Pierry salvages the slower parts. By the end, you completely forget about the other lovers they were supposed to marry.

Don't expect some deep masterpiece here. It is just a light, slightly crumbly piece of French pastry of a movie. 🥐