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Lol
Culture

Lol

By Joffre Agnes
29/01/2009

Before seeing “Lol”, I read the synopsis and instantaneously felt terribly unimpressed. Was it simply another disappointing French chick flick? The French are so bad at this, why don’t they just let the Americans do it? And what a title! So ridiculous! On top of being a suicidal genre, the scenario looked so cliché.

Lol
Lol

Lola (Christa Theret) can’t wait to see all her friends on the first day back at school. Especially Arthur (Felix Moati). But when he tells her he had sex with another girl over the summer – “as a test” – she is so hurt that she tells him she also did. Of course he calls her a "slut". In a world of I-pods, body piercing, thongs, cell phones, MSN, grass, music and booze, Lol and her friends slowly make their way through tenth grade, speaking a language peppered with text message shortcuts and dodging their often divorced and largely overwhelmed parents. Lol’s mom, Anne (Sophie Marceau), after an affair with her ex-husband is being courted by a police detective when she “accidentally” reads her teenage daughter’s journal and realises just how wide the communications gap has grown.


“Lol” is exactly like “La Boum” (“The Party”, the French cult chick flick of the 80s’) of the 2000s’. The parallel is all the more relevant as it once again stars Sophie Marceau, but as the mother this time! The ingredients are the same: a beautiful young teenager racked by school, friends, love and family issues. Vic Berreton just got an Ipod, a mobile phone, a laptop, msn messenger, she wears thongs and she is now called Lola.

Lol
Lol


Director Lisa Azuelos loves comedies and portraits. She began writing the scenario of “15 Août”  depicting men in their forties, then she directed her first movie “Comme t’y es belle” looking toward modern women and today, she signs and directs a new film focusing on teenagers. Of course, this portrait of rich and cool Parisian teens verge often on cliché but how could it be different?

There is the rebel, the musician, the comic, the female best friend, the stupid ex boyfriend with the silly hair cut, the vamp… They all take themselves so seriously and think they are so fashionable, bold, fresh and vive. They don’t pay much attention to school but to music, love relations and friendships... Lisa Azuelos has succeeded in grasping the reality of modern youth and some sequences look terribly authentic.

I remember for instance that I also used to go to concerts during the Emergenza competition to support some friends who I considered as absolutely cool. I used to have very complicated affairs between the boys and the girls crew too and I used to lie to my parents about my nights out. Moreover, just as Lola, even now, my mobile phone and my Ipod are never far away from me and I could spend a night, not on Msn anymore (don’t call me has-been!), but on Facebook or on My Space… Besides, the parallel between mother and daughter lives is intelligent and moving and could eventually give some keys to cross the generation gap. Finally personal issues are often the same even if their expressions differ.

Lol
Lol


However Lisa Azuelos’ description of modern teens is not always as positive as it could be. Maybe I’m not objective because my sweet 15 are not so far away and I might have issues with admitting how ridiculous we were, but I feel that my friends and I were not so cliché and were far more profund. I think she went too far with her use of the teen vocabulary, the mask they always carry, the situation they end up in, the choices they make… Teens are not only dummy fashion victims, egoist spoiled children drinking too much, smocking grass and having superficial problems!It could all have been taken more lightly.

If Lol doesn’t lack of freshness and dynamism, it definitely lacks of finesse, nuances and humor. And teens are not the only one concerned. Parents are also predictable: the authoritative and stick-in-the-mud father, the depressive and out of touch mother, the conservative and uptight mother and of course Sophie Marceau the gorgeous, modern and cool mother. Gags and plots are blatant but still enjoyable. And, come on, if you go to see “Lol” you can just not expect an exact social study, it’s just a comedy!

If you accept not taking it seriously, you could get some roars of laughter (as a British, the school trip in the UK should get you the giggles) and you could even be moved. Nice shot.

 

Lol
Lol
 

  Don’t watch this movie if you are looking to have an intellectual time. It’s just a chick flick, a feel good movie which doesn’t pretend to be anything else and, despite my original strong reluctances and some big defaults, I ended up with a smile. And I bet you will too even if you don’t dare to admit it! The cast is great and the music sounds really good and is perfectly accurate… In brief, this is a good chick movie which does its job. No more, no less.

COMMENTAIRES:

15/09/2011 - rachael.elwick a dit :

I would like to buy this movie in Scotland so I am able to pass my higher! I have no idea where I can even get a copy of it online. I am willing to pay anything virtually to get my hands on a copy! Anyone know where I could get one????

24/04/2011 - biteme.imfrench a dit :

I really want to buy this movie in the UK but it seems virtually impossible. Does anyone have any suggestions other than ebay?

Thanks.

18/01/2011 - lionel.lacour a dit :

Hi,
I am french and what I read is very interesting. But you forget one thing: these teenagers don't exist, only in my nightmares!
How can a teenager hope to live this life?
If you can read french, go on my blog. I explain why this movie is a so bad movie.

http://cinesium.blogspot.com/2011/01/lol-un-film-reflet-de-la-societe.html

Lionel

06/08/2010 - hollymcgrath1 a dit :

I love French films and hate American remakes! And worst of all, an American remake with DEMI MOORE! Ugh.
The french make 'slice of life' films so much better, so much more intimate, so real.
I cannot believe Demi Moore of all people...

oh well, better brush up on my french so I can understand the original...the last I heard it hasn't been released with subtitles...

27/01/2010 - wowraider a dit :

Well...

Speaking of America... Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore are doing the American version of this. And yeah, it's gonna be awful.

24/01/2010 - stoned_jimmy2142 a dit :

i totally agree with that paragraph:

(quote start)"However Lisa Azuelos’ description of modern teens is not always as positive as it could be. Maybe I’m not objective because my sweet 15 are not so far away and I might have issues with admitting how ridiculous we were, but I feel that my friends and I were not so cliché and were far more profund. I think she went too far with her use of the teen vocabulary, the mask they always carry, the situation they end up in, the choices they make… Teens are not only dummy fashion victims, egoist spoiled children drinking too much, smocking grass and having superficial problems!It could all have been taken more lightly." (quote end)

..but why do you recommend the american teen movies then? they are so much more cliché than this movie was actually. (not saying it was the shit either.)

greetz from berlin.

13/11/2009 - hil_imagination_radio a dit :

Tuve la oportunidad de ver el premier de esta pelicula en el tour frances que hay aqui en Mexico, es verdaderamente conmovedora. No he tenido una gran experiencia con la cultura francesa e ignoro que tan real o exagerada pueda ser esta pelicula, pero el no tener una idea me ayudo a tratar de prestar la mayor atencion posible y puedo opinar que es una gran pelicula y tiene mucha mas escencia que cualquier otra pelicula americana. Por desgracia hemos permitido que los americanos saturen el cine y tomen lo mejor de cada una de nuestras culturas formando una que es muy superficial y no es real.
Tengo 20 años. Mexicana

19/10/2009 - sineadlalor a dit :

I saw this film on a very long flight (London to Singapore), during which I watched five other films, including two American Rom-Coms, and LOL was the best of the bunch by far.

Superbly acted, beautifully shot and very uplifting - I absolutely loved it and I think it's a shame that it hasn't had more of a general release in the UK.

I don't think that this film is in the genre of light-hearted teenflick at all, which was what I was expecting when I decided to watch it. I think it's a lovely, very moving film that is enjoyable for people of all ages - I'm 29. Absolutely superb and I would highly recommend it.

By the way, I'm Irish!

10/10/2009 - marionrp a dit :

"The French are so bad at this, why don’t they just let the Americans do it? And what a title! So ridiculous! On top of being a suicidal genre, the scenario looked so cliché."
>> WTF ??!! I always said Americans are better than us, but what YOU say is stupid. About the title, you CAN'T understand if you are not french. LOL just means "Laughing Out Loud" for you, but in France, it's like the "teenagers mark". This movie is a HUGE SUCCESS in France. We forgot "La Boum". Now it's "LOL". In my opinion, this movie is much better than all these stupid americans comedies.
Sorry. My english sucks. As you can see, I'm french.

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