"Eat, or you won't be able to die!"
La Grande Bouffe (La grande abbuffata in Italian, The Grande Bouffe or Blow-Out in English) is a weird 1973 French-Italian Black Comedy film directed by Marco Ferreri.
Its characters are four bourgeois men varying from reasonably well-to-do to very well-to-do who have made a pact: they are going to eat themselves to death and die of gluttony. While they're at it, they bring in prostitutes and a buxom teacher, Andréa.
The protagonists were played by three leading men of European arthouse cinema, Michel Piccoli, Marcello Mastroianni and Philippe Noiret, and a giant of commedia all'italiana, Ugo Tognazzi.
Tropes:
- Death by Gluttony: THE film. The characters aim to die this way and the movie is about their attempt to achieve this goal.
- Food Porn: Food is always on display and the characters discuss the food they eat.
- Grossout Show: The sounds of trapped gas are even exaggerated for the
Squick effect. - Happy Ending: Zigzagged as the characters achieve their goal but they are dead.
- Madonna-Whore Complex:
- The four characters invited three conventionally stunning hookers who each spend time with one of the men. Only one character, Philippe, has a romance with Andréa, a teacher, who remains with the group even when the hookers, disgusted by their insane gluttony, leave.
- Subverted as Andréa cheats on Philippe with all three remaining main characters.
- Official Couple: Andréa and Philippe. Later zigzagged as Andréa cheats on Philippe but he still considers them a couple and wants to marry her.
- Out with a Bang: Andréa masturbates Ugo while he's dying stuffing himself with pâté.
- Shout-Out: In-Universe, Ugo imitates Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) from The Godfather at one point.
