Surreal, campy B movies have always been synonymous with French provocateur Quentin Dupieux. His weirdness is an art form in and of itself; killer car tires and self-sabatoging directors seem like outrageously insane plots that no producer or studio would ever think to finance but on the screen it somehow works. Same is true in his latest film Mandibles, a buzzy buddy comedy about a giant fly. That’s it. That’s the plot.
Low-achieving but well-meaning best friends Jean-Gab (David Marsais) and Manu (Grégoire Ludig) are the French equivalent of Dumb and Dumber‘s Harry and Lloyd. They manage to get themselves into truly remarkable and idiotic situations, but their oblivious and laissez faire attitude never gives them cause for concern. That is, until they stumble across something that they believe has the potential to change their lives forever: a giant fly.
Jean-Gab takes to the fly immediately, giving her the name Dominique and imaging a future where he can train her well enough to start making money off of her party tricks (or bank robberies, the latter seeming more unlikely but he isn’t deterred). Manu on the other hand hesitantly goes along with Jean-Gab’s plan until an unforeseen situation forces the duo to adapt.
When the guys get caught up in a case of mistaken identity and find themselves staying at a vacation home with a group of strangers, Jean-Gab’s protective paternal instincts kick in. He doesn’t want anyone to know about Dominique, especially the inquisitive and slightly “off” houseguest Agnès (Adèle Exarchopoulos), but Agnès knows something is up, and she’s determined to figure out what it is.
Mandibles is low-hanging fruit for comedy fans; the film’s light-hearted nature doesn’t strive to be anything other than zany and oddball kooky but at times, this chaotic jumble also rubbed me the wrong way. Personally, I find it grating when characters constantly yell and one of Agnès’ character traits is her inability to control her speaking level, so those moments were a bit hard to sit though.
Going into any Quentin Dupieux film, you’re probably not expecting thought-provoking, Oscar-qualifying work. That’s the joy in his movies, they’re original, completely fun, and entirely wacky. Mandibles is truly something you have to see to believe.
Distributed by Magnet Releasing. In theaters Friday, July 23.
