Okay, rewind your minds back to the mid-90s video store aisles. Past the Schwarzenegger explosions and the Julia Roberts romances, maybe tucked away in that slightly intimidating 'Foreign Films' section, you might have stumbled upon a brightly coloured box with a rather mischievous glint in its eye. French Twist (Gazon maudit, 1995) wasn't your typical multiplex fare, yet it somehow charmed its way into mainstream consciousness, offering a surprisingly bold take on love, fidelity, and finding yourself in the most unexpected of circumstances.
### When the Plumber Fixes More Than the Sink
The setup is classic French farce territory, soaked in the Provençal sunshine. Loli (Victoria Abril) is a bubbly, somewhat put-upon Spanish housewife living a comfortable, if predictable, life in the south of France with her charming but relentlessly philandering husband, Laurent (Alain Chabat). Laurent figures he’s got it made – doting wife at home, various dalliances on the side. That is, until the day Marijo (Josiane Balasko) arrives. Marijo is a robust, pragmatic, lesbian plumber whose van has broken down nearby. Invited to stay while it's fixed, she quickly sees through Laurent's casual chauvinism and finds a neglected spark in Loli. What follows is not just a love triangle, but a delightfully chaotic and surprisingly tender exploration of shifting dynamics, challenging assumptions with Gallic wit and warmth. This wasn't the kind of premise you saw every week down at Blockbuster, was it?
### Balasko: The Triple Threat
You absolutely have to talk about Josiane Balasko. Not only does she deliver a fantastic performance as the grounded, no-nonsense Marijo – a perfect foil to the more flamboyant characters around her – but she also directed and co-wrote the film. Balasko was already a comedy legend in France, a key member of the famed Le Splendid troupe that gave us cult hits like Les Bronzés (released Stateside, years later, as French Fried Vacation). Here, she steps behind the camera with confidence, crafting a film that balances sharp observational comedy with genuine emotional depth. It's a tricky tightrope walk; the film pokes fun at stereotypes (the cheating husband, the neglected wife, the 'butch' lesbian) but ultimately finds humanity in all its players. It’s a testament to her skill that the film manages to be funny without being cruel, provocative without being preachy. Reportedly, Balasko based Marijo partly on a real plumber she knew, adding a layer of authenticity to the character's practical demeanour.
### Abril and Chabat Shine
Matching Balasko's energy are her co-stars. Victoria Abril, a frequent muse for Pedro Almodóvar around this time (think Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!), is luminous as Loli. She navigates Loli's transformation from overlooked housewife to a woman rediscovering her own desires with incredible charm and comedic timing. Her initial bewilderment and eventual embrace of the situation are completely believable and often hilarious. And Alain Chabat, another huge comedic talent in France (later directing the smash hit Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra), is perfect as the smug Laurent. He manages to make Laurent both exasperatingly entitled and strangely sympathetic as his carefully constructed world crumbles around him. His gradual realization that he's not the centre of Loli's universe anymore provides some of the film's biggest laughs. The chemistry between all three leads is electric, sparking with witty banter and unspoken tensions.
### More Than Just Laughs
While French Twist is undeniably a comedy, it resonated because it dared to treat its central relationship with respect within a mainstream context. It wasn't just playing the "surprise! she's gay!" card for shock value, which felt refreshing in the mid-90s landscape. The film was a massive hit in France, snagging the César Award (the French Oscar) for Best Screenplay and even earning a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Its original French title, Gazon maudit, translates roughly to "Cursed Lawn" or "Damn Lawn," a clever idiom referring to poaching on someone else's territory – perfectly summing up the tangled relationships. Filmed primarily in the picturesque Vaucluse region of Provence, the sun-drenched visuals provide a beautiful backdrop to the emotional rollercoaster, making the bourgeois comfort Laurent takes for granted feel vividly real.
Finding this tape felt like discovering a hidden gem. It lacked the slick polish of Hollywood comedies of the era, feeling more grounded, more willing to sit in awkward moments. The humour arises from character and situation rather than just a string of gags. Sure, some aspects might feel a touch dated now, perhaps leaning into certain character types, but the core emotional intelligence and the bravery of its premise still shine through. It treated its audience like adults, capable of handling complex relationships wrapped in a funny package.
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VHS Heaven Rating: 8/10
Justification: French Twist earns a solid 8 for its audacious premise (especially for a mainstream 90s comedy), fantastic performances from the central trio (Balasko, Abril, Chabat), sharp writing, and confident direction by Balasko herself. It successfully blends farce with genuine heart and social commentary. While perhaps not laugh-a-minute for everyone, its warmth, wit, and groundbreaking (for its time) handling of sexuality make it a standout French comedy of the era. It loses a couple of points perhaps for some reliance on character tropes common to the time, but its overall charm and intelligence endure.
Final Thought: This was the kind of smart, character-driven European comedy that made wandering the 'Foreign Film' aisle in the video store such a rewarding lucky dip – a reminder that sometimes the most interesting twists come with subtitles.