A fine Mocky effort ,which begins as a comedy and ends up as a cynical tragedy and an absolutely moral (or immoral ,depending on your view ) denouement.
Mocky renews the hackneyed story of the kidnapped child , so often told and bourgeois boheme drivel such as "trois hommes et un couffin " (remade as "three men and a baby").
The hero is a complete loser,exploited by his boss ,and crippled with debts , about to be evicted from his apartment ,and .....about to become a father as his pregnant wife (played by Romy Schneider's daughter ,Sarah Biasini), who has not got a clue about her husband 's plight is to give birth in the days to come.
The anarchic side of the director comes back to the fore as ever : as he needs 60,000 euros, why not kidnap a millionaire's baby and ask for a ransom? No sooner said than done: but the gentle kidnapper,who would not harm a fly ,is an amateur and is never able to recover the money till ...
Frederic Diefenthal is marvelous as the amateur kidnapper, overtaken by events ;matching him every step of the way is Richard Bohringer's dumber than dumb cop who says to the parents crying their heart out : "60,000 ! It's next to nothing for you,I'd rather have asked one million!".
There are lots of funny lines, hilarious scenes ,even though it does not always avoid vulgarity (the owner and his secretary ) ,but it's the name of the game when you watch a Mocky movie.
Best moments : the baby exchanged for a soft toy , both cars ,the kidnapper's and the cops' parked side by side ,and leaving the site at the same time, the diapers in the supermarket and the wrong man , the chauffeur and the English nanny who shows themselves smarter than the police ,the kidnapper dressed up as a frogman to latch onto his hard-earned ransom.
For once,Mocky 's screenplay is not botched , Vladimir Kosma's music is fine and tuneful ,often played by a barrel organ ,which gives the movie a popular nostalgic feel. And the denouement ,when everything happens at once, won't disappoint you.
Don't be fooled by the poor rating! Stand by Mocky!
