de Funès rises to stardom
"But how my Pouic-Pouic can be in the radio?"
— Cynthia Monestier note
Pouic-Pouic is a 1963 French comedy film directed by Jean Girault, starring Louis de Funès and Mireille Darc.
Patricia Monestier (Darc) is the daughter of Léonard Monestier (de Funès), a rich speculator. She is tired of Antoine's (Guy Tréjean) courtship, so she hires Simon Guilbaud (Philippe Nicaud) to pretend he is her husband. Her father comes back home and he is very angry to hear that her daughter has married someone without his permission. Meanwhile, Léonard's wife Cynthia (Jacqueline Maillan) has bought a concession in South America as a present for her husband's birthday. Léonard is convinced she was conned by the seller, so he wants to re-sell the same concession to Antoine. To this end, he asks Patricia to charm Antoine and he asks Simon to pretend he is his own son coming back from South America.
Pouic-Pouic provides examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Antoine for Patricia. She pretends Simon Guilbaud is her husband to discourage his courtship.
- The Con: The movie is about Léonard Monestier and his family trying to convince Antoine to buy a worthless concession in South America.
- Contrived Coincidence:
- The concession Cynthia bought is in South America. Her son Paul pretended to be in South America, which allows Léonard to pretend his son explored the place.
- Just as Léonard has convinced Antoine that Simon is his son coming back from South America, his real son Paul comes back home (with Palma Diamantino).
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Patricia Monestier is very cold and not interested in love. She eventually falls in love with Simon Guilbaud.
- Disney Death: When Léonard Monestier hears that finally Antoine bought the concession, he collapses. The next image is a close-up of flowers, with funeral music. Then, the camero zooms out and the music changes: it is actually Patricia and Simon's wedding and Léonard Monestier is still alive.
- The Ditz: Cynthia. She is conned by Pedro Caselli and she buys the concession. Later, her husband has a hard time explaining his plan to her (in particular the fact that Simon will pretend to be their son). Her attachment to Pouic-Pouic, her pet rooster, makes her almost a Cloudcuckoolander.
- Faint in Shock: At the very end, when the concession turns out to be a massive "gold-mine" of oil, Léonard learns it... after he has sold it to Antoine Brévin.Léonard Monestier: My concession... [angrier] MY CONCESSION [grabs his butler Charles and starts shaking him]
Charles: Well, actually it has been sold...
Léonard: WHAT!!!
Charles: To Mister Antoine Brévin [with a big smile] - Fauxreigner: Palma is not the South American woman she pretends to be. She is just a French courtesan.
- The Film of the Play: The film is an adaptation of a 1952 theatre play, Sans cérémonie.
- Gold Digger: Palma Diamantino, who leaves Paul for Simon, when she thinks that he is Léonard's favourite son, and finally charms Antoine when she understands that he is very rich.
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: Patricia Monestier admits she has feelings for Simon when he spends some time with Palma.
- Happily Ever After: The film ends with Patricia and Simon's wedding.
- Here We Go Again!: In the end, Cynthia says that she has bought something for her daughter's dowry, which clearly worries her husband.
- Hypocrite: Léonard Monestier acts friendly toward Antoine when he wants to sell him his concession, but promptly kicks him out when he wrongly discovers there is an oil deposit. And then, this happens:Léonard Monestier: [discovering Pouic-Pouic being chased after hearing him on the radio] What is this?
Charles: He was stumbling between my legs and has scared me and...
Léonard: AND THEN WHAT?
Charles: Then I must've forgotten to...
Simon Guillaud: [speaking with the microphone with a booming voice coming from the radio] To switch off the micro! Not bad... but you should have warned us, pal.
Léonard: IT WAS YOU ON THE RADIO?! ANTOINE! ANTOINE! MY DEAR FRIEND! ANTOINE! COME BACK! - Idle Rich: Léonard Monestier's jobs seems to be just a financier and speculator.
- Manipulative Bastard: Léonard Monestier tries to con his friend Antoine Brévin into buying a concession of land without resources: he uses Antoine's crush on his daughter Patricia and his son Paul's fake trip to Venezuela.
- Money Fetish: Léonard Monestier is pretty damn angry that his wife has sold steel stocks when their price was rising to buy a worthless concession. Said concession was supposed to be a gift for his birthday.Léonard Monestier: I have to sell this concession! I need to have liquid assets! Not everything is lost if I find a "sucker".
- Ms. Fanservice:
- Patricia Monestier (Mireille Darc), who has a scene in bikini in the beginning.
- Palma Diamantino (Yana Chouri), who wears several revealing dresses.
- Pool Scene: In the beginning, Patricia Monestier is having a sunbath in bikini next to the swimming pool.
- Romantic Fake–Real Turn: Patricia and Simon pretend to be married, so that Antoine stops courting Patricia. They eventually fall in love.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Monestrier's wife is a bit airheaded and eccentric, while he is serious and level-headed.Léonard Monestier: [after trying to explain his scheme to wife] I can't take it anymore! I can't take it anymore!
- Secondary Character Title: Pouic-Pouic is Cynthia's pet rooster, hardly a main character.
- Spicy Latina: Palma Diamantino, the sultry South American who tries to charm Paul, Simon and Antoine. Subverted, because she is actually a Fauxreigner.
- Unusual Pets for Unusual People: Cynthia is very attached to her pet cock, Pouic-Pouic.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: At first, Léonard plans to use Patricia's charms to convince Antoine to buy the concession. When Antoine asks him if he was informed about the concession by his son who travelled to South America, he answers yes and decides to ask Simon to pretend to be his son. When his real son Paul comes back, Léonard tries to stage a rivalry between Simon and Paul.
