Robert Cavaillon is the king of the pet food industry. After he sold the factory to his workers, he decided to run for office. His campaign in support of animal rights gives him a lead in the opinion polls - which worries the main political parties. Since his past is unassailable, his political opponents decide to give the job of getting rid of him to a bizarre couple - a professional killer called Jean and a high-class call girl named Clara. The pair has to ruin him with scandal and then eliminate him for good. Jean's first attempt at his task is a failure: instead of a killer he ends up looking like Cavaillon's savior and friend. Clara is forced to play the role of the killer's tender wife, because their victim sees them as a kindly pair not interested in using him for his position like everyone else. Between one bungled assassination attempt and the next, the three are enmeshed in an intense relationship in which their roles all change.
Acting
Galabru's oblivious warmth against Chesnais' exhausted killer energy
Writing
Screwball assassin logic that keeps escalating beautifully wrong
Direction
Delarive's tight 87-minute chaos management
Director
Agnès Delarive
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This 1990 French comedy landed during a wave of political satire targeting the increasingly indistinguishable mainstream parties—Cavaillon's animal rights platform mocking how single-issue candidates could disrupt the system.
Michel Galabru was already a comedy legend when he took this role, fresh off his César-winning dramatic turn in 'Judge and the Assassin'—proving he could do warm buffoon and terrifying authority with equal commitment.
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