Father and Guns

Émile Gaudreault's 2009 Quebec film is a comedy built on a father and son who cannot stand each other both being police officers. To save a colleague kidnapped by a biker gang, they have to infiltrate an outdoor group therapy programme for fathers and sons. Their greatest test is getting through the therapy without killing each other. The comedy rests on mocking the language of group therapy: sessions for sharing feelings, trust falls and talking circles. The timing between Michel Côté and Louis-José Houde works well. The film was an extraordinary commercial success in Quebec and became one of the highest-grossing local productions to that point. The genre mixing does not always hold; the action sections interrupt the comedy. Who it's for: viewers who like Quebec comedy and father and son stories. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a consistent genre experience, or troubled by therapy being made fun of.