| French Twist | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Josiane Balasko |
| Produced by | Pierre Grunstein Claude Berri (executive producer) |
| Written by | Josiane Balasko Patrick Aubrée Telsche Boorman (story) |
| Starring | Victoria Abril Josiane Balasko Alain Chabat Ticky Holgado |
| Music by | Manuel Malou |
| Cinematography | Gérard de Battista |
| Editing by | Claudine Merlin Kako Kelber (co-editor) |
| Distributed by | AMLF (France) Miramax Zoë (USA) |
| Release date(s) | 8 February 1995 (France) 19 January 1996 (USA) |
| Running time | 104 min |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $1,026,646(USA) |
French Twist (French: Gazon maudit), is a 1995 French comedy film. It was written and directed by co-star Josiane Balasko. The film was a hit in France gaining 3,790,381 Admissions and grossing $1,026,646 in the United States.
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Laurent (Alain Chabat) and Loli (Victoria Abril) are a thirty-ish married couple living in southern France with their young children. He is an estate agent; she is a housewife. Laurent has extramarital affairs.
Loli is unaware that her husband is unfaithful. Then one day, a campervan breaks down in front of their house. The driver is Marijo (Josiane Balasko), a 40s-ish butch lesbian who works as a DJ. She asks to use their phone. Loli has a blocked sink, so in exchange for using the phone, Marijo gets Loli's drain back in working order. Loli and Marijo begin an affair. Laurent is upset, but then his friend Antoine (Ticky Holgado) accidentally reveals Laurent's philandering to Loli. This seems to justify her romance. Marijo moves into the house.
Antoine then suggests that Laurent let Loli have her way, cease all hostility, and wait for the affair to burn out. Laurent agrees, and the household becomes a seemingly idyllic ménage à trois. But his strategy has its effect, especially after another lesbian couple, old friends of Marijo, happen by. Laurent welcomes them, but Loli becomes annoyed and jealous.
Marijo decides that the situation is not really going to work. She knows that Laurent wants her to leave. While Loli is away on a trip, Marijo makes a deal with Laurent. She will break up with Loli and leave immediately, if Laurent will give her something she has wanted for years: a baby. Laurent has sex with Marijo to get her pregnant, and Marijo departs before Loli returns. Laurent tells Loli nothing, as agreed with Marijo.
Laurent and Loli settle back down to their old life, but their relationship has been deeply affected. Then Loli hears from a mutual acquaintance that Marijo is living in Paris and is several months pregnant. Loli is astonished and shocked. She insists that she and Laurent go to Paris and contact Marijo. They find her working as a DJ in a lesbian dance club. Their intrusion provokes a quarrel with the club owner, who fires Marijo. Loli and Laurent take her back to their home, where she has her baby.
The ménage à trois is re-established, with the two mothers caring for their children. As a final twist, a handsome man (Miguel Bosé) moves into the neighbourhood and he and Laurent gaze into each other's eyes...
Gazon maudit won Josiane Balasko the César Award for Best Writing in 1996.
The film was also one of the 53rd Golden Globe Awards nominees in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.
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