Le Jouet Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Le Jouet Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 15, 2015

Francis Veber's "The Toy" a.k.a. ""Le jouet" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and the newly produced documentary "Les jouets du president:. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Let's play!

Brilliant but unemployed reporter Francois Perrin (Pierre Richard, The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe gets a tryout in a popular newspaper, but is told to shave his big beard because its owner, Mr. Rambal-Cochet (Michel Bouquet, The Unfaithful Wife), hates men with facial hair. A day later and looking drastically different, Francois is invited to meet Mr. Rambal-Cochet and he welcomes him to The Family.

While visiting a large department story owned by Mr. Rambal-Cochet, Francois is chosen as a toy by his spoiled son, Eric (Fabrice Greco), who demands to have him wrapped and sent to his home -- just like a real toy. Afraid that he might lose the job he has just been offered, Francois agrees to play along and quickly ends up in a large box.

After the toy is delivered, and Mr. Rambal-Cochet informs Francois that he is delighted to see that his son has a sense of humor and promises to give him a small bonus for his trouble. Much to everyone’s surprise, however, Eric announces that he intends to keep his toy and play with it whenever he feels bored. Determined not to disappoint the boy, Rambal-Cochet then asks Francois to spend a few days at his home until Eric gets tired of him and decides to replace him with a new toy.

The plot is beyond absurd, but as it is the case with many of Luis Bunuel’s films it creates excellent contrasts that lead to very accurate and thought provoking observations about the haves and the have-nots in France. The big difference between The Toy and Bunuel’s films is that the former accomplishes its goals without trying to scold or scandalize.

At the core of the film there are two important character transformations. In the first half, Francois is forced to swallow his pride and is repeatedly humiliated by Mr. Rambal-Cochet and his spoiled son. The majority of the humiliation acts are quite funny, but there is also an element of authenticity in a few of them that can easily make one feel uncomfortable. (The eagerness with which Rambal-Cochet’s right-hand man tries to please him is also borderline disturbing). Then in the second half Eric undergoes a sizable character transformation and joins Francois in his efforts to crumble Rambal-Cochet’s empire. To a certain extent the kid interprets Francois’ plan as yet another very entertaining game, but there is a part of him that also begins to realize that the world he has been living in is not only immoral but utterly ridiculous.

Occasionally the contrasts can look and feel exaggerated, but Richard’s wonderful performance infuses the film with lightness that makes them very easy to tolerate. On the opposite end Greco is equally likeable and very convincing as the spoiled brat. Bouquet also impresses with a wide range of terrific facial expressions.

The Toy was written and directed by Francis Veber, whose credits also include such classic French comedies as The Goat, The Fugitives (both with Richard), The Dinner Game, and The Closet. The soundtrack was created by award winning composer Vladimir Cosma (Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Diva, Pardon Mon Affaire.

In 1982, Richard Donner directed an English-language remake of The Toy with Richard Pryor, Jackie Gleason, Ned Beatty, Scott Schwartz, and Teresa Ganzel.

Le Jouet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Francis Veber's The Toy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe.

The Toy was part of the first batch of classic titles Pathe introduced in 2013 and uses as a foundation a recent 2K restoration. Unfortunately, there are light to moderate traces of denoising corrections that have affected detail and depth throughout the entire film. To be perfectly clear, there are select close-ups that look rather decent, but larger panoramic shots can appear smeary and in at times even uncharacteristically flat (see the bottom of screencapture #6). The same denoising corrections are also responsible for the distracting sharp edges that frequently pop up during well-lit scenes (see the boy's pants in screencapture #4 and his shirt in screencapture #18). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Colors also appear healthy and natural. Finally, there are absolutely no stability issues, and large debris, cuts, stains, scratches, and dirt have been removed as best as possible. All in all, while the film does look fresh and healthy, it certainly does not have the pleasing organic appearance it should have had after it transitioned to Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Le Jouet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Mono). Also included is a French Descriptive Audio DTS 2.0 track. For the record, Pathe have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track opens up the film exceptionally well, though the original sound design really is quite modest. Vladimir Cosma's score breathes easily, but it has primarily a supportive role. The dialog is crisp, stable, clean, and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, background hiss, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Le Jouet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Film annonce - original restored trailer for The Toy. In French, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Les jouets du president - this documentary takes a closer look at the production history of The Toy. Included in it are clips from new video interviews with scenarist Francis Veber, and actors Pierre Richard, Michel Bouquet, Michel Robin, and Fabrice Greco, In French, not subtitled. In French, not subtitled. (28 min).

Le Jouet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is very unfortunate that Francis Veber's classic comedy The Toy does not have the solid organic appearance it should have had after it was restored in 2K. There are portions of the film that look somewhat acceptable, but the bigger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to see the compromising digital corrections that have been applied after the restoration. The film is a minor classic, but I don't expect to see a better release in North America. The best that I can do is recommend that you find a way to RENT IT.