Voyage d'agrément: A mess of a lie

Is it worth your time?

If you like old-school French comedies where everyone is shouting or sweating over a misunderstanding, you’ll probably have a decent time. If you hate watching people make the most transparently stupid choices imaginable, you should skip this. It’s light, it’s frantic, and it doesn't care if you think Jerome is a jerk.

The whole premise is just a classic setup for a headache. Jerome thinks he's being clever, but he’s really just setting a trap for himself. I spent half the movie waiting for the other shoe to drop, and when it finally did, it was just as chaotic as you'd hope.

The comedy of errors

There is this one moment in the second act where the timing feels just a little bit off, like the actors are slightly tripping over the dialogue. It’s not great, but it feels human. It lacks the polish you see in something like Skating Instructors, but there's a certain charm to the mess.

Watching Jerome try to juggle his fake imprisonment with his actual predicament is exhausting. You can almost see the gears turning in his head, failing to actually come up with a decent plan. It’s not exactly high art, but it’s honestly relatable if you've ever tried to cover up a mistake and only made it worse.

• The pacing is frantic.
• The sets feel very stage-play inspired.
• The lead actor looks constantly panicked.

It’s nowhere near as sophisticated as Monna Vanna, but it isn't trying to be. It’s just a snapshot of a guy losing his mind in real-time. The supporting cast does a lot of heavy lifting here to keep the energy up when the script starts to sag.

Honestly, the ending feels a bit rushed, like the writers just wanted to go home. It doesn't tie everything up, but that’s fine. I didn't need a lecture on morality from this movie anyway. Just give me the punchline and let me go.