La Boum (The Party) is a 1980 film from France directed by Claude Pinoteau.
It has two narrative tracks. The first involves Victoire aka "Vic", a 13-year-old girl who has just moved to Paris with her parents. Vic (Sophie Marceau in her film debut and Star-Making Role) pretty much fits in right away, making a friend named Penelope and getting invited to a party (aka "boum"). She meets a boy named Mathieu and develops a schoolgirl crush. Is it true love?
The second plot thread involves Vic's parents, who, amazingly, are named Francois and Francoise. Francois is a dentist, who is caught by surprise one day when Vanessa, an old lover, shows up in his office. They start things up again, and eventually Francoise-with-an-E finds out that her husband is having an affair. She promptly throws him out of the house, and starts flirting with Eric, who happens to be Vic's German teacher. Vic's parents' marriage then teeters on the edge of divorce.
Followed by La Boum 2.
Tropes:
- Babies Make Everything Better: Francoise and Eric have just consummated their relationship when Francoise reveals that she is two months pregnant by her husband. Poupette later tells Francois that his wife's pregnancy is his last chance to save the marriage. Sure enough, the baby is obviously key in leading Francoise back to her husband.
- Blackmail: Penelope's little sister starts bleeding her for cash after finding out that Penelope is sneaking out to meet boys and go to parties.
- The Cameo:
- The film's composer Vladimir Cosma, As Himself.
- TV host and journalist Léon Zitrone, also As Himself.
- Cool Old Lady: Grandma Poupette. She's a professional musician, still playing harp when she looks like she must be 80, who takes Vic to recording sessions. She takes Vic to fancy restaurants and tells stories of her wild youth. She's been the mistress to a married man for 42 years. She whisks Vic to the beach at Cabourg on a whim, so that Vic can see her boyfriend Mathieu; while there, Poupette gambles in the casino. At one point she casually mentions that she Sleeps in the Nude.
- Coming of Age Story: Vic, in a new school, deals with her parents' shaky marriage, goes to parties, meets a boy, meets another boy....
- Costume-Test Montage: Vic models a series of outfits for her mom's judgment, before going off to the first big party.
- Eiffel Tower Effect: They happen in French films too, as a sweep of the skyline in the opening credits, complete with Eiffel Tower, tells the audience that the film is set in Paris.
- The Glasses Gotta Go: The nerdy kid at the party takes off his glasses and a girl named Caroline says "Without glasses you look better." Unfortunately he's close to Blind Without 'Em.
- Impairment Shot: A boy at the party takes off his glasses to impress the girls, but unfortunately the world becomes a blur.
- Maintain the Lie: Vanessa and Francois are together, but he has to leave to go back to his wife. Vanessa impulsively calls Francoise, identifies herself as a nurse, and says that Francois has suffered a broken leg. This works in the short term, as Vanessa and Francois are now able to spend the night together. But then he has to wear a cast, and make up a phony story about how he was injured when his partner Etienne crashed his car, and then actually crash Etienne's car so that it shows damage. Eventually, after stumbling on some steps while fumbling around with crutches he doesn't need, he gives up and confesses his affair.
- Of Corsets Sexy: Vanessa wears a very fetching Playboy Bunny-style corset for an intimate evening with Francois.
- Shout-Out: Francois complains how hard he's being worked at the dental practice, saying it's "like Chaplin in Modern Times."
- Something Else Also Rises: Francois and Vanessa are eating truffles, and he asks if it's true, what they say about truffles being aphrodisiacs. She says yes, and that he's going to need "stamina like a boxer" for their evening together. Cut to the cork on a bottle of champagne in the room, popping.
