Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: the police comedy “made in France” of a whole generation.
Released in 1984, the success of Les Ripoux is legendary. At the box office, it was with its 5.8 million spectators that it won the favor of the public, and at the Césars, it was with its three awards – best film, best director and best editing – that it won over the critics.
Its popular triumph will allow two sequels to see the light of day: Ripoux against ripoux in 1990, then Ripoux 3 in 2003. There is no more cult – and more French – than Claude Zidi’s trilogy.
The story here is that of René, an old cop from the police station in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, a bribe collector who likes to settle with mobsters. His well-established little life is turned upside down, however, when he has to team up with François, a young first straight out of police school, ready to enforce the law to the letter.
With the help of his concubine Simone, an ex-prostitute, he undertakes his new mission: to convert the blue to his methods, a quest that could well turn against him…
It was therefore in the early 1980s that the French fell under the spell of the Ripoux. The mismatched duo formed by the rotten cop and his honest teammate is a classic that has easily convinced the public. Thirty-nine years later, the comedy hasn’t aged a bit and the antagonism between the two police officers is still just as delectable and hilarious.
An endearing police comedy, Les Ripoux is above all a duo of actors at the top: Philippe Noiret opposite Thierry Lhermitte, both irresistible and made to meet.
Nowadays, the film is also a journey through time, to the heart of popular Paris in the 1980s, between small daily life and the underworld of criminals.
Great moments of comedy but also great moment of emotion: this is what characterizes our Ripoux to us, very French. Incisive dialogues, hilarious situations, quality acting and acclaimed direction: everything comes together to make the feature film a timeless feel good movie.
Les Ripoux, by Claude Zidi with Thierry Lhermitte, Philippe Noiret, Régine…
From 14 years old
Tonight on ARTE at 8:50 p.m.