Une nuit de noces (1935) review: Frantic French farce with too many doors

If you have a soft spot for dusty, loud 1930s French bedroom farces where everyone behaves like they just drank ten cups of espresso, then yes, Une nuit de noces is worth a look. 🏃‍♂️

But if you hate theatrical screaming, slamming doors, and plots that rely on people being incredibly dumb, you will probably want to throw your remote at the screen.

I stumbled onto this one late at night, and boy, it is noisy.

The whole thing is basically about a wedding night that goes completely wrong because of about fifty different misunderstandings that could be solved with one normal conversation.

It's based on an old stage play, and you can really tell because the camera barely moves, like the director was afraid of getting too close to the actors.

Honestly, the best part of the whole mess is Julien Carette. He has this face that always looks like he just realized he left the stove on at home. 😲

He brings this frantic, sweaty energy that almost makes you forget how silly the script is.

Then you have Pauline Carton, who plays a maid—she always plays these roles, and her voice is like a squeaky door hinge that needs oiling.

I swear she steals every single scene just by looking incredibly annoyed at everyone else's existence.

There is a bit in the middle where a guy tries to hide under a table, and the table is clearly way too small for him.

You can see his legs sticking out the entire time, but the other characters just pretend he isn't there.

It is those little, lazy moments that make these old movies so charming to me.

If you want something with actual plot substance, you are better off checking out the marital confusion in Twin Husbands, or maybe the drama of Les frères Zemganno.

But if you just want to see French people from 1935 lose their minds over a marriage certificate, this does the job.

The ending sort of just... happens.

It feels like the writers ran out of paper and just decided to have everyone hug and call it a day.

My random notes from the watch:

• The mustache on Marcel Carpentier deserves its own acting credit. 👨🏻
• Why does everyone in this movie talk at the exact same time?
• Pretty sure one of the doors almost fell off its hinges in the background of scene three.
• The music sounds like it was recorded inside a tin can.

It's definitely not a masterpiece, but it's a fun relic if you don't take it too seriously.