I am often quite hard on the French for their terrible taste in music and their even more abominable taste in television. However, from time to time they do surprise me, and I discover a French pop artist that does not make me want to retch or I’ll get hooked into a show unexpectedly. One such case stands out from the rest, and I have to give credit where credit is due: French TV for several years was home to the
perfect TV series: Un gars et une fille (A guy and a girl). (NB: upon doing some research for accuracy, I discovered that this show was in fact originally from Quebec and it has since been adapted across the globe, soon to be available for US viewers as “Love Bites”.)
Sadly, this gem is no longer on here, although from time to time there are reruns and I am lucky enough to own one of the “Best of” DVDs.
Here is the genius: every weekday evening, just before the news came on, you could catch Jean Dujardin (this is the show that launched his now brilliant career) and Alexandra Lamy playing “Jean” and “Alexandra” or Loulou and Chouchou as they affectionately called each other.
Each episode lasted no longer than 7 minutes. Ah, the ideal espresso dose of television comedy. (Note that in Canada, the running time was the sitcom standard 26 minutes.)
Situation comedy living up to the name. Realistic, hilarious, charming ‑ I don’t think there’s a single episode where I didn’t laugh out loud at least once, if not about every minute or so. There’s never a chance to become bored, they never go too far, thanks to the mini-format. For me, 7 minutes of TV, 5 days a week is about the best possible maximum media exposure.
The chemistry between the two actors is explosive. I once read an interview where Jean and Alex described that while they were standing in line for the show’s casting auditions, they had a professional “coup de foudre” (love at first sight for the non-Francophones) which became clear to the producers immediately, hence their hiring. Interestingly enough, after 3 years of playing the world’s funniest lovers, the two ended up leaving their respective spouses/partners and moving in with each other, the
coup de foudre having apparently evolved onto a more personal level. They do make a great couple, although there have been recent rumors of a split, especially since Jean’s career has skyrocketed (Brice de Nice, OSS 117 among others) while Alex’s has stagnated. He was clearly the key talent of the show anyway, and she was frequently rather annoying (hard to tell if it was the role or reality…).
Luckily for those of you who never had the chance to take in this pearl, another big fan has put some clips on their blog (scroll down to the photo of Alexandra Lamy and you'll see a still photo from the show underneath. Just hit the play arrow in the middle for a tasty treat!):
http://radiomikado.blog50.com/archive/2006/10/12/radiomikado-bonjour-14-octobre2006.html
