A Real Crass Act

Loudly dressed and louder voiced, they're the tourists from hell. Self-centered and sex-obsessed, they rarely miss the chance to insult each other or the locals. And that's why the French lionize them. This septet of risibly dysfunctional characters collectively known as Les Bronzés (the Suntanners) have become Gallic cultural icons. Their egotism and low-brow fixations are still catnip to French comedy fans even though their debut film hit the screens a full 28 years ago. Their second — and only other — sortie into cinema, Les Bronzés Go Skiing, released a year later, marked their last incarnation.

It's been a long wait, but last week the whole team, older but definitely no wiser, returned to the fray with a third film, Les Bronzés 3: Friends For Life. "This movie is like reuniting with old friends — both for fans, and those of us in it," says actor Gérard Jugnot, who plays Bernard Morin, a small-time businessman with upper-class aspirations. "In 1978, we were just trying to create these amusing, farcical situations and characters. Little did we know that with time and spreading popularity it would become a social phenomenon."

Like its predecessors, Bronzés 3dispatches its callous characters on vacation where a minimalist plot is driven by their pettiness, scheming and serial infidelities. But in contrast to the early works, which parodied the unabashed boorishness of young French tourists in the sex-addled 1970s at an Ivory Coast Club Med resort and, in the second film, on the ski slopes, the new movie finds our antiheroes visiting Sardinia in overripe middle age. Experience has taught them little more than how to hone their barbs. Their fashion choices are worse than ever, and the embonpoint of token bimbo Gigi (Marie-Anne Chazel) has been enlarged to gargantuan proportions. Past entanglements collide with new realities to create fresh comic crises within the group. "They're really trashy and amazingly repulsive, yet they accept it in one another as the price to pay to remain friends," explains Patrice Leconte, who directed the original movies and the new release. "That's also why the Bronzés characters work with fans: audiences recognize their glaring flaws as human faults we all share. As bad as they are, the Bronzés are our neighbors, members of our family — they're us."

Bronzés 3 is visually slicker than the first two films and matches their laugh-a-line pace. But will die-hard followers think it measures up? Actor Jugnot admits some critics already question the wisdom of "trying to revisit popular movies the public views as national references," but says the participants aren't looking for glory. After the original movies, most cast members went on to establish successful careers, including Jugnot himself (who starred in and co-produced The Chorus, nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2005). Christian Clavier co-wrote and starred in The Visitors, Josiane Balasko's many triumphs include 1989's Too Beautiful For You, comic star Thierry Lhermitte appeared in Le Divorce and Michel Blanc has been in films by Robert Altman and Roberto Benigni. They have all returned for the third time, and the cast's work as an ensemble is what makes Les Bronzés exceptional, says Jugnot: "Despite all the achievements of our independent careers, being part of this group and forging together as Les Bronzés has always been a great source of pride. We had that again in this film."

Yet if the actors came on board for love, the producers, who sunk a reported €35 million into Bronzés 3, will expect to see a return on their investment. Director Leconte doesn't think they have cause for concern; previous Bronzés movies did well in cinemas and were absorbed into French pop culture after TV broadcasts and retail sales took them to wider audiences, winning new generations of admirers.

The new movie should reach break-even point when the 8 millionth viewer parks in a seat at the movie house to watch the fun. But neither Leconte nor Jugnot expect foreign audiences to queue round the block. "France's sense of humor and comedies just don't seem to globalize," says Leconte, "unless the Americans decide to remake them." Les Bronzés in particular, Jugnot adds, is an inside joke "about how we French are ugly, mean and cheap." That's a good reason why Les Bronzés will probably remain pop heroes only their countrymen can love.