Jack Mimoun and the secrets of Val Verde: hilarious and effective [critique]

A French adventure comedy dynamited from within by the Commandeur-Damiens duo.

Two years after its cinema release, Jack Mimoun and the secrets of Val Verde finally arrives unencrypted on television, this Sunday evening on TF1. And this French comedy is worth the detour! Here is the review of Firstoriginally published in October 2022.

On the scale of French adventure comedy, this specimen is equidistant from the Shipwrecked from Turtle Islandthe little-known nugget from Jacques Rozier and let's say, The Ballthe forgotten stew of the Berberian-Forestier duo. Let us move on here to the inconceivable initial premise which would necessarily mean that the anti-hero on duty (Malik Bentalha) is a potential redneck incapable of moving a finger other than at the call of a pretty young woman's foot. woman (Joséphine Japy) who is not looking for another method.

Jack Minoun is therefore a false extreme adventurer who falsifies his reports. He soon finds himself, almost against his will, on a dangerous island in search of pirate treasure. The junk Indiana Jones will be able to count on the young and pretty doll in question (sic!) orphaned by an idealized father and two clumsy henchmen who are almost worth the trip alone: ​​Jérôme Commandeur and François Damiens, with comic effectiveness formidable. Benoît Magimel is also there. Waiting to discover it soon in Peacetion by Albert Serra, we can say that the tropics fit him like a glove.

This feature film, well produced from start to finish by the Altmayer brothers – at the origin of the saga of OSS with Dujardin – ensures a total change of scenery without excessive gleam and a general dynamic without downtime. In the genre, this Jack Minoun can claim unusurped posterity. So sure of what they are doing, the fine team ultimately hints at a possible sequel. We don't say no of course.

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