Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
In this Franco-Italian gangster parody, a shopkeeper on his way to an Italian holiday suffers a crash that totals his car. The culprit can only compensate his ruined trip by driving an American friend's car from Naples to Bordeaux, but as it happens to be filled with such contraband as stolen money, jewelry and drugs, the involuntary and unwitting companions in crime soon attract all but recreational attention from the "milieu".
The Sucker is a solid, enjoyable Franco-Italian comedy parody directed by Gérard Oury, starring Bourvil and Louis de Funès. The plot is a likable comic caper built on the classic 'innocent man unwittingly caught up in crime' premise — competent and entertaining but not especially complex. Bourvil and de Funès share genuine chemistry and deliver their trademark comedic performances well, though the acting is broad farce rather than nuanced work. Cinematography is functional period work with some appealing location shooting across France and Italy. Novelty is moderate — the film works within an established genre parody tradition, and while Oury's pairing of these two beloved French comedians gives it a distinctive flavor, it doesn't radically reinvent anything. The ending resolves the comic chaos satisfactorily without being particularly memorable. Overall a well-regarded French comedy classic that holds up as pleasant entertainment.