The Jackpot! (1991)

As Good As It Gets

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

First off I haven't seen the Hollywood remake nor have I any plans to do so; for one thing Arnie's kind of movie is not my kind and for another you're never going to get me to believe that Arnie is as good an actor as Thierry Thermitte, actually you're not going to get me to believe Arnie is an actor period. Okay, they gave Claude Zidi a writer credit and apparently used a good 70 to 80 per cent of La Totale in True Lies but the central premise requires an actor who can convince as an average Joe, a Jack Lemmon say, and Arnie tips his glove from Frame #1 whilst Thierry Thermitte is right on the money. The main thrust of the plot is vintage Billy Wilder and it may be that Zidi came across it in Wilder's waste basket after he rejected it. Thermitte is excellent as the Caspar Milquetoast who is really an Agent and Miou-Miou is equally good as the wife who finds him so dull she entertains thoughts of an affair with a used-car salesman who PRETENDS to be an agent. Great dialogue, great performances, forget True Lies and check this one out.

A good fun flick. Yes, it lacks the flashiness of american remake, but the dialogue and characters alone are worth it. The interaction between the crusty Albert and slick François is great. You could say that, after Le diner de cons, Le placard, Les ripous and La totale, Lhermitte may be typecast as the guy who's too smart for his own good, but he does it so well!

When I saw this movie on World Movies I loved it, thinking that it was one of the funiest films I have seen in a long time.At that point I didn't know there was an American re-make, though I had seen bits of True Lies before, but somehow I only ever saw action scenes and was turned off from seeing it. Only today, when I was telling my friend the plot of "La Totale!" did he tell me it was almost the same as True Lies.. and I was very surprised, especially as True Lies had terrible reviews.Oh well, I suppose it won't be the first re-make which is nowhere near as good as the original :-)

I would usually be the last one to prefer an American remake to a French original. The remakes generally lose the quality that made them seem worthy of a remake in the first place.To me, one of the very few exceptions to this rule would be the case of La totale! and True Lies, with Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you have occasion to see this film, you will recognize nearly every scene. The remake added some scenes -- mostly spectacular ones -- and a much, much bigger budget. And a certain something else, a je ne sais quoi, a panache, a joie de vivre which the Gallic original is lacking. Surprising, but true. No lie.