Really Surprised!

As Good As It Gets

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Whatever the success of its predecessor, 'Le retour du grand blond' (= French for 'the return of the tall blond man') can safely be labeled as a miscarriage.Its plot, providing an almost endless sequence of just-not slap sticks, nowhere & never carries you away. Even its distant link to James Bond hardly makes sense.The only memorable scene is provided by male lead Pierre Richard, getting stuck with his finger in a street grill.However, a positive exception is made by its shooting, which is fully up to 1974-standards. But sadly that's all there is. Not even Mireille Darc is able to lift 'Le retour du grand blond' from its misery.

The charms of the last movie were lost here. The movie turned a little too absurd for me. It seemed as if a lot of things were forced and they were not able to get me to care for the characters like I did in the last movie. It was funny, but what made the last movie enjoyable just was not there. By making everything a little more ridiculous took away the real nature of the characters. I do not think they needed to make this movie. It was enjoyable as I watched it, but I could have spent the time watching a different movie. I kind of liked the ending, but it was a little predictable. Overall not a great sequel and this is why they should not always make remakes.

"The Return Of The Tall Blond Man" (1974) directed by Yves Robert is one of the most incredible things that could happen in the world of movies - it is a sequel that works, that is as funny (and sometimes funnier) as the original and is almost as clever and bright as the first movie. The soundtrack is simply unbelievable. Pierre Richard, who once again is expected to be a naive pawn, fights back with his own plan which involves so many hilarious acts of physical comedy that they may fill the movie twice as long as this brilliant Return of one of the best comedies ever made. This is the movie to rewatch and enjoy over and over again.

I strongly recommend viewing this sequel before the original. Indeed, Le Retour will probably leave you intrigued to watch "Le Grand Blonde", but I can easily imagine a viewer seeing 'Le Grand Blond' and not bothering to look for a sequel."Le Retour" is worth watching even if you've recently seen the American remake, "The Man with One Red Shoe". In fact, give it a chance even if you didn't particularly like the Hanks film -- the gulf is akin to (but not quite as large as) the one between Jean Luc Beson's Le Femme Nikita and the Hollywood remake -- a huge difference in tone, richness and sheer cleverness (This film may be where Quentin Tarantino got his by-now-familiar Mexican standoffs.) If you worry about seeing films out of order, have no fear! There's charming introduction, where the characters and events of the original 'Grand blond' are dealt out and explained as cards in a magic act (rather clever ...and apropos) It may leave you feeling as if you're missing a lot of background, but you aren't. It's a fine demonstration of the show biz maxim "leave them wanting more"I first saw this film over 20 years ago at a college-sponsored "Midnight Movies" and enjoyed it so much that I never forgot it and kept an active eye open for an opportunity to see it again (and show it to my friends)About a year ago, I happened across both movies at a small local video. By now, I'd long since forgotten if I had seen the 'le Grand Blond' or 'Le Retour' (the sequel), so I started with the original.It was such a total disappointment that I couldn't bring myself to put the sequel in the VCR. Where was the charm I remembered? I wrote the whole thing off as one of those college experiences you can never re- create. Could I really have been that different at 16?Fortunately, I did end up playing 'Le retour' a few days later. It still held a large measure of the appeal I recall from 1978, and remains firmly among the films I recommend