Little Nicolas/Le Petit Nicolas (2009); family comedy film review

French poster artwork for the comedy family film Little Nicolas/Le Petit Nicolas.

Baby Blunder by Linh

French director Laurent Tirard (Moliere) has a knack for comedy in his films and his latest offering is Little Nicolas, which is based on the popular French comic books by Jean-Jacques Sempe and René Goscinny. Little Nicolas combines physical comedy, witty dialogue and funny scenes featuring frazzled grown-ups who behave like children and kids who attempt to deal with adult dilemmas.

DINNER DISCUSSION: Nicolas's Mum (Valérie Lemercier) and his Dad (Kad Merad) try to discuss Dad's special dinner for his boss to Nicolas (Maxime Godart) in the film Little Nicolas/Le Petit Nicolas. Image: Pathe, Wild Bunch.

The film is narrated from the perspective of young Nicolas who is content with his life, is loved by his family and has fun with his school friends. One day, his classmate Joachim discovers his mother is pregnant and he is soon to have a little brother. Joachim laments about his extra responsibilities and the possible neglect as the baby will receive all the attention. That night, Nicolas overhears his parents talking and suspects his Mum is having a baby, and they will abandon him in the woods like Tom Thumb. Nicolas enlists the help of his friends to get rid of the baby by hiring a gangster to kidnap it, resulting in hilarious misadventures and laughs along the way.

Little Nicolas is told in flashback, as the lead character Nicolas is about to have his class photograph taken, when he remembers his homeroom teacher asking him “what would you like to be when you grow up?” This question gets the film off to a fun and entertaining start by introducing the other children and Nicolas’s parents.

BABY BLUES: Nicolas (Maxime Godart) wonders what it would be like to have a little brother in his family, in the film Little Nicolas/ Le Petit Nicolas. Image: Pathe, Wild Bunch.

The cast of youngsters is fantastic featuring an excellent Maxime Godart as Nicolas; Vincent Claude is the overeater and food fanatic Alceste; Damien Ferdel is Agnan, the typical the class nerd; Charles Vaillant as Geoffroy the wealthy and money-minded single child; Victor Carles plays Clotaire, the class dunce who sleeps through every class and made to stand in the corner as punishment.

The adult cast is equally superb with Kad Merad in fine comic form as Nicolas’s Dad, who has waited ages for a promotion from his boss; the wonderful Valérie Lemercier as Nicolas’s Mum who does everything she could to impress her husband’s boss and his wife; and the lovely Sandrine Kiberlain plays the fretful but patient homeroom teacher.

Little Nicolas is a light-hearted and humourous look at the over-active imagination of children and the over-reaction of adults as they cope with the dramas of work, school, and family. It’s an enjoyable and family-friendly film with lots of laugh-out-loud moments.

PHOTO FINISH: Nicolas's class finally settles down for a class photograph in the film Little Nicolas/ Le Petit Nicolas. Image: Pathe, Wild Bunch.

Director: Laurent Tirard

Writers: Grégoire Vigneron, Alain Chabat and Laurent Tirard (screenplay), Jean-Jacques Sempe and René Goscinny (comic book)

Cast: Maxime Godart , Valérie Lemercier, Kad Merad, Sandrine Kiberlain, Anemone, Daniel Prevost, Michel Duchaussoy, François-Xavier Demaison, Michel Galabru, François Damiens, Louise Bourgoin, Vincent Claude, Charles Vaillant, Victor Carles, Benjamin Averty, Germain Petit Damico, Damien Ferdel, Virgile Tirard, Elisa Heusch

Producers: Genevieve Lemal, Eric Jehelmann      

Original Music Composer: Klaus Badelt     

        

Cinematographer: Denis Rouden       

        

Film Editor: Valérie Deseine       

Production: Françoise Dupertuis (Production Designer), Patrick Dechesne (Set Decorator)

Costume Designer: Pierre-Jean Larroque

Language: French with English subtitles

Running Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes