Soigne Ton
Gauche
An early
comedy short by Jacques Tati
This
11-minute comedy short is probably of more interest for its
early glimpse of Jacques Tati than its filmic qualities,
which are rather ordinary.
Tati, a tall, slender and agile clown, obviously trained in
mime, plays what I assume to be a farmhand or the son of a
farmer. For some reason, a boxer and his retinue are
training in the farmyard. A postman arrives with news of a
big match, and the boxer quickly works his way through his
sparring partners, so Tati is recruited to spar the boxer.
The situation is not developed very well, with most of the
humor deriving from Tati's loose, lanky physicality, which
is reminiscent of Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow in "The
Wizard of Oz." Tati looks a bit like Bolger, too.
Ultimately, however, this is a one gag idea, and its laughs
are fairly predictable.
This
review is of the version contained on the Criterion
DVD "M. Hulot's Holiday"