French Twist (1995) from Tuna

Gazon Maudit, also known as Bushwacked and French Twist, is a delightful French comedy starring Victoria Abril. It was written and directed by Josiane Balasko, who also played a key role in the film.

Abril is in an outwardly ideal marriage to Alain Chabat, who is a notorious womanizer behind her back, and has been neglecting her. Then Balasko, obviously butch, arrives, and is instantly attracted to Abril. Abril feels appreciated for the first time in a while, and the two women quickly become intimate. When hubby finds out, all hell breaks loose.

The film looked great, with well saturated colors and colorful sets. I enjoyed it, possibly because I liked the female characters.

NUDITY REPORT

Abril is naked several times in the film, including well lit full frontal, and is in two sex scenes with Chabat, and one bathtub sex scene with Balasko. Balasko shows a nipple in the bath scene.

(Scoop's note: Despite its lack of success with North American audiences and critics, it was a box office hit in France, as well as a much-awarded film)

The Critics Vote

  • General USA consensus: two stars. Ebert 1.5/4, Berardinelli 2.5/4.

  • It won a Cesar for best writing, and was nominated for Best Film and Best Director. It was also nominated for Golden Globe Best Foreign Film.

The People Vote ...

  • It grossed a modest $1.4 million in the USA, in arthouse distribution. It was a hit in France, with 3.7 million admissions. Converting for the population difference, that indicates popularity equal to a $150 million blockbuster in the USA.

 
The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. (C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by genre fans, while C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie although genre addicts find it watchable). D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-.

Based on this description, this is a C.

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