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May 25, 2012

At the Movies: 'The Intouchables' is a real crowd pleaser

By CHRISTY LEMIRE
AP Movie Critic

On paper, “The Intouchables” looks like eat-your-vegetables cinema: the story of a wealthy, white disabled man and the troubled black youth from the projects who becomes his reluctant caretaker. Surely, life lessons will be learned by all and an unlikely friendship will form across racial and socioeconomic lines and we'll all feel good about ourselves walking out of the theater afterward.

THE INTOUCHABLES

Director: Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano

Cast: Omar Sy, Francois Cluzet

Rating: R

Running time: 112 minutes
It could have been painfully mawkish, but writers and directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano upend expectations by infusing the comedy with a subversive, playful tone throughout, with some totally inappropriate humor and even some surprises. (There's a Hitler joke, just to give you an idea of where they're willing to go for a laugh.) It's sweet but not saccharine, and the result is irresistibly crowd-pleasing.


 
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