Le retour du grand blond [The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe] (1974)

(In French, On Cable TV, June 2020) Well, you can’t accuse the filmmakers behind Le retour du grand blond of not delivering what the audiences are asking for—the film insistently returns to what made the first film Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire funny and doesn’t bring many new ideas to the table. As a result, this sequel quickly runs out of energy: even the primary “twist” of the sequel, having the protagonist play the secret agent he’s not supposed to be, doesn’t feel like a particularly good idea. (There is more plot here than in the first film, but it’s not necessarily better.) Pierre Richard once again gives his best to the film, but the material he’s served doesn’t recapture what made the first film so enjoyable. Oh, there are funny moments here and there—and the film is certainly watchable—but Le retour du grand blond really feels like most sequels: one more hurrah, but without the spark.