Fais pas ci, fais pas ça : Y aura-t-il Noël à Noël ? (2020)

(On TV, December 2022) The self-imposed challenge in watching Fais pas ci, fais pas ça : Y aura-t-il Noël à Noël?, I realized after a few minutes, is that it’s a Christmas special movie from a long-running French TV show. Without any prior knowledge of the said show, the film becomes more difficult to decipher than for show fans. Still, the script does an acceptable job at introducing the two families at the heart of the series, the characters in broad strokes and the amusing-without-being-funny tone. Since Fais pas ci, fais pas ça apparently depends a lot on humiliation comedy, it’s not such a surprise to find most of the film’s subplots going through the local police station as many characters are arrested or go provide bail. The comic highlight of the film, however, is unintended—one of the characters launches into an impersonation of Céline Dion, and her mock French-Canadian accent is so grotesquely weird it barely registers as an attempt at one. As far as Christmas movies go, writer-director Michel Leclerc’s Y aura-t-il Noël à Noël? ends up being tough to assess: it’s a touch too cynical to be entirely dedicated to that syrupy “spirit of the holidays” thing, while the focus on the show’s mythology is liable to have non-show-viewers think that this must be a treat for those viewers who are familiar with the show. On the other hand, this running-start approach at chaotic multi-strand plotting with established characters brings some welcome chaos and unpredictability to the film if you compare it to more traditional holiday fare. By this time in December and the onslaught of Christmas movies, I’m placing a lot more emphasis on being surprised than being completely up to speed on everything going on. From that angle, Y aura-t-il Noël à Noël ? can be potable even if you don’t have a clue about Fais pas ci, fais pas ça itself.