A Little Something Extra

Fleeing after a robbery, a father and son, Paulo and La Fraise, look for somewhere to hide and end up at a summer camp for young people with disabilities. One passes himself off as a camper, the other as his support worker. The plan was to hide for a few days and get out; the time at the camp breaks the plan. Artus wrote, directed and played Paulo in his first feature. Clovis Cornillac, Alice Belaïdi, Marc Riso and Céline Groussard are in the cast. Artus insisted on not using professional actors for the disabled characters, and eleven disabled performers appear, each with a character of their own. What happened in France was not a release but an event. It sold 500,000 tickets in three days, the second best opening in the history of French cinema behind only Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis. It passed ten million admissions on 17 August 2024, went over eleven million after that, and was the most-seen film in France for the year. One detail sums up its subject. Speaking to France Inter, Artus said no luxury brand was willing to dress the film's disabled actors for the Cannes steps; the brands said they had lent out all their outfits. His comment was that it is always more elegant for a brand to dress Brad Pitt. Who it is for: viewers who like French popular comedy and films that solve the question of representation in practice. Who it is not for: anyone after subtle humour. The film uses a conventional comic structure and goes straight for an emotional ending.