Alright, grab your popcorn and maybe a French dictionary for this one, fellow tapeheads. Remember those weird, brightly coloured VHS boxes you’d sometimes find tucked away in the “Foreign Films” section of the video store, looking completely out of place next to the usual action heroes and screaming teens? Sometimes, taking a gamble on one of those yielded pure, unadulterated strangeness. Today, we're diving headfirst into a prime example: 1994’s Fear City: A Family-Style Comedy (or, La Cité de la peur, une comédie familiale if you snagged an import copy). This isn’t your typical Hollywood fare; it’s a blast of pure, concentrated French absurdity from the comedy troupe Les Nuls, and it’s utterly bonkers.
### Cannes Chaos Unleashed
Imagine the glamorous Cannes Film Festival. Now, imagine injecting it with the anarchic energy of Airplane! or The Naked Gun, but filtered through a distinctly Gallic sense of humour. That’s Fear City. The plot, thin as a crepe Suzette, follows Odile Deray (Chantal Lauby), a relentlessly ambitious press agent trying desperately to promote a truly wretched horror flick called "Red is Dead." Her problem? The film is so bad, nobody cares. Her solution? A killer starts murdering the film’s projectionists using the signature hammer and sickle from the movie, creating exactly the kind of buzz Odile craves. Enter Serge Karamazov (Alain Chabat), a bodyguard whose incompetence is matched only by his misplaced confidence, assigned to protect the film’s dimwitted star, Simon Jérémi (Dominique Farrugia). Commissioner Bialès (Gérard Darmon, pitch-perfect as the perpetually exasperated detective) is tasked with solving the murders amidst the festival frenzy.
This film marked the big-screen arrival for Les Nuls (Chabat, Lauby, Farrugia, and the late Bruno Carette, to whom the film is dedicated), who were already massive comedy stars in France thanks to their work on Canal+. Directed by Alain Berbérian (who later gave us the equally silly action-comedy Le Boulet (2002)), Fear City translates their sketch comedy sensibilities directly to film, resulting in a relentless barrage of gags.
### Action? Well, Sort Of... Hilariously.
Now, this being VHS Heaven, we love our practical effects and gritty action. Does Fear City deliver? Not in the way Die Hard or Lethal Weapon does, heavens no. The "action" here is pure parody. Think less "death-defying stunt" and more "man slips spectacularly on a strategically placed fish." There’s a car chase involving dialogue entirely made up of brand names, slapstick fights where characters react with cartoonish physics, and Karamazov's attempts at bodyguarding usually result in more chaos than protection.
What’s brilliant, though, is how the commitment to the absurdity makes these scenes land. It’s not about realism; it’s about the sheer, unexpected silliness. Remember those low-budget horror movies on VHS where the effects were charmingly unconvincing? Fear City leans into that aesthetic intentionally. The gore in "Red is Dead" (the film-within-the-film) is hilariously fake, and the real-world violence is played entirely for laughs. It’s a product of its time in the sense that the humour comes from the idea of action tropes, twisted into knots. There's no attempt at gritty realism; the focus is purely on the gag.
### A Non-Stop Gag Machine (Lost in Translation?)
The heart and soul of Fear City is its relentless wordplay and visual humour. This is where things get tricky for non-French speakers. The script is saturated with puns, cultural references, and idiomatic jokes specific to France in the early 90s. While the slapstick travels well, a significant layer of the comedy relies on understanding the nuances of the language. A famous running gag involves characters mishearing words constantly, leading to escalating misunderstandings – hilarious if you follow along, potentially baffling if you don’t. Retro Fun Fact: The film was a colossal hit in France, selling over 4 million tickets, cementing Les Nuls' status as comedy legends. Its catchphrases are still quoted constantly there.
Despite the language barrier, the sheer energy of the performances shines through. Alain Chabat (who many will know from Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, which he also directed) is fantastic as the suave-but-stupid Karamazov. Chantal Lauby nails the ambitious, slightly manic energy of Odile, and Dominique Farrugia plays the naive actor Simon with endearing cluelessness. Their chemistry is undeniable, honed from years working together.
One particular sequence became legendary: the "La Carioca" dance scene. It’s a completely random, extended, and deliberately silly musical number performed by Chabat and Darmon that seemingly comes out of nowhere, halts the plot entirely, and is utterly unforgettable. It perfectly encapsulates the film’s "anything goes" spirit. Another Fun Fact: The film actually premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994, not in competition, making its skewering of the event even more pointed and hilarious.
### Legacy of Laughter
Outside of French-speaking territories, Fear City remains largely unknown. It wasn't a film likely found dominating the shelves at Blockbuster in Peoria. Its humour is just too specific, too reliant on cultural context. But for those who appreciate Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker style parody, or who have a fondness for discovering bizarre international comedies, it’s a fascinating time capsule. It’s a film made with infectious enthusiasm by a group of comedians at the height of their powers, throwing every joke they could think of at the screen.
It doesn't take itself seriously for a single second, and its primary aim is simply to make you laugh through sheer, unadulterated silliness. Watching it now feels like uncovering a secret handshake amongst French comedy fans – a brightly coloured, slightly fuzzy VHS tape holding pure, untranslatable joy.
Rating: 7/10
Justification: While undeniably hilarious and clever within its specific cultural context, the heavy reliance on French wordplay makes it less accessible universally than its American spoof counterparts. However, the visual gags, committed performances, and sheer anarchic energy still provide plenty of laughs, making it a worthwhile curiosity for adventurous viewers. Its cult status in France is legendary and well-deserved.
Final Thought: Fear City is a whirlwind of glorious nonsense – a reminder that sometimes the funniest action is the kind where the only thing truly getting blown away is logic itself. A must-see if you speak French, a bizarrely entertaining oddity if you don't. Youpi!