The Shiny Shrimps

A well-known swimmer makes a demeaning remark about a gay athlete on live television. The federation punishes him: he will coach an amateur water polo team. The team is a group of gay men, nobody takes training seriously, and their real aim is to get to the Gay Games rather than to win there. The subject is not sport but a group refusing to be taken seriously. The man tries to impose discipline and the team resists; the film's idea is that winning was never their point and that this is not a deficiency. The form is broad comedy and most of the jokes are direct. But when the film changes register it gives no warning: news of a death during the trip and the passage on the bus is where the narration hardens completely. It did far better in France than expected and a sequel followed. The team's name and colours were drawn from real amateur lesbian and gay sports clubs in France; the Gay Games are not invented, the film is about an event that exists. Nicolas Gob plays the coach, with Alban Lenoir and Geoffrey Couët in the team. Maxime Govare and Cédric Le Gallo direct together; Le Gallo comes from a team like this himself. Who it is for: viewers who like French farce and ensemble comedy. Who it is not for: anyone after subtlety; the film reaches for the stock joke often.