The Wing or the Thigh

The Wing or the Thigh
Directed by	Claude Zidi
Produced by	Christian Fechner
Written by	Claude Zidi Michel Fabre
Starring	Louis de Funès Coluche Julien Guiomar Martin Lamotte
Cinematography	Wladimir Ivanov Claude Renoir
Edited by	Robert Isnardon Monique Isnardon
Distributed by	Films Christian Fechner
Release dates	27 October 1976
Running time	104 minutes
Country	France
Language	French
Box office	$43,814,670[1]

The Wing or the Thigh, from the French L'aile ou la cuisse (French pronunciation: ​[lɛ.lu.la.kɥis] is a 1976 French comedy film directed by Claude Zidi, starring Louis de Funès and Coluche.

Plot

Charles Duchemin (Louis de Funès) is the editor of an internationally known restaurant guide. After being appointed to the Académie française, Duchemin decides to retire as a restaurant critic and trains his son Gérard (Coluche) to continue the family business. However, Gérard Duchemin is more interested in his true passion—the circus—than high cuisine. Soon, however, Charles' plans to retire are complicated by the arrival of Jacques Tricatel (Julien Guiomar), the owner of a company of mass-produced food. Fearing for the future of high cuisine, Charles and his son strive to ruin Tricatel's company in any way they can. This movie is an allegory of the antagonism between USA culture and French culture as it was seen by French people in the 70s.

Reception

Critical reception

The film received a mixed critical reception.

Awards

The film received a Goldene Leinwand (Golden Screen) in Germany in 1978.^[2]

Trivia

Coluche in the film.

• The Duchemin Guide is likely a reference to the real life Michelin Guide.
• Jacques Tricatel is likely a reference to Jacques Borel.
• This is the first movie of Louis de Funès after his double heart attack of 1975, that kept him from playing in Gérard Oury's Le Crocodile, a film that ended up never being made.

References

External links

• The Wing or the Thigh at the Internet Movie Database
• The Wing or the Thigh at the TCM Movie Database
• The Wing or the Thigh at AllMovie
• L'aile ou la cuisse at Rotten Tomatoes
• L'Aile ou la cuisse at www.unifrance.org