Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

What a delightful French comedy. I agree with those reviewers who complemented the producers on the excellent job with the English subtitles. I'm sure that we miss some of the nuances in the spoken dialogs; but I found much humor in the subtitles as done. I don't have sufficient knowledge left from university-learned French and short trips to the Riviera when stationed in the military decades ago to be able to follow the normal dialog in a film. So, having the subtitles sold the movie to me. This is a very good story about people, stereotypes and how our misconceptions can be so wrong and hurt one's understanding of different cultures – even in regions within one's own country. We Americans especially should realize that cultural differences exist between regions of all of the larger European countries – especially France, Germany, Italy and Spain. So, besides the comedy, I found the exploration of this theme very interesting for France. The scenes of the towns, countryside and coast in the far north of France were interesting. It was in this area – from Lille to the English Channel 40 miles (64 km) away, that the major French and British forces were surrounded by superior German units in May 1940. That ended with the Battle of Dunkirk and heroic rescue of 330,000 troops across the channel to England. Of course, Calais is also not far from there, and that's where the German's had concentrated their strength to defend against an Allied invasion from across the English Channel. The land sailing scene was very interesting with Phillipe (played very well by Kad Merad) and Antoine (played very well by Dany Boon). That beach scene must have been shot somewhere close to Dunkirk or Calais.In America, it's common for people to travel across country, East to West, North to South, and all directions in between. So, it may seem odd that people of southern France should have such a misconception about the climate and weather in the northern part of their country. The movie dispels all of that for the audience. The scenes in the early part of the movie are hilarious. Philippe and his family dread the severe cold he will have to endure, and his son Raphael worried that his day may lose his toes. At first I thought this was intentional exaggeration for the humor, but when Phillipe's wife Julie (played very well by Zoe Felix) buys him a heavy padded winter coat, I wondered if many people in the south of France didn't take such things for real. So, out of curiosity I did some climate comparisons between Aix-en- Provence and Lille, France. The horizontal distance between the two communities is about 500 miles (800 km). The latitude difference is about 7 degrees from about 30.5 to 43.5 North. The average high and low temperatures for the month of July at Provence are 84 and 64 degrees F. For the same month, the average high and low at Lille is 75 and 57 F. The spread is very close – 20 degrees difference at Provence and 18 degrees different at Lille. But what is most interesting is the difference between the two locales for high and low. Provence averages 7 to 9 degree F warmer during July than Lille. But there is even much less difference during the winter. The average high and low for January at Provence are 52 and 36 F. They are 45 and 36 F at Lille. The difference between the high temperatures for January at Provence and Lille is only 7 degrees F. And there is no difference between the average low for the two locales. Both places average 36 F for the low during January. So, if the people in Lille would lose their toes to the cold, so would the people of Provence. The disparity from high to low in January is greater at Provence – 16 degrees F. For Lille, the disparity is only 9 degrees F. The annual disparity from lowest to highest average is greatest for Provence. The average difference is 48 degrees F. That for Lille is just 39 degrees F. I didn't check precipitation or sunlight, but on the basis of temperature swings alone, Lille in the North has a more moderate climate than does Provence in the South. This is based on data taken off the Internet on January 19, 2015. I looked for some comparisons in the U.S., but most with exact distances (about 500 miles or 800 kilometers), had major geographic or climate differences that gave far different results. For instance, New Orleans to St. Louis is about 600 horizontal miles (960 km) with a latitude difference of about 70 – the same as between Provence and Lillie, France. But the average high temperatures for July are the same for New Orleans and St. Louis – 90 degrees F. The average lows for July are 76 and 71 degrees F, respectively. The winter temperatures vary the most. The average January high at New Orleans is 62 and at St. Louis it's 38. That's a disparity of 24 degrees F. The average low for January is even more – 47 at New Orleans and 21 at St. Louis. For a 26-degree F spread. So, it's much colder – and truly freezing in January to go from New Orleans to St. Louis in the U.S., than it is for French people to go from Provence to Lille. And remember, St. Louis is hardly in the North of the U.S. While France overall is at a more northern latitude than is the U.S., its climate and temperature ranges are more moderate from region to region. I just thought some French movie buffs might find that a little interesting. This is a good and most enjoyable film. I heartily recommend it.

At times the plot is not very credible as the story goes in the Internet era when finding information about another part of a country and dialects spoken there should not be a nuclear science... Although I have experienced French arrogance and poor knowledge of geography, I have never heard or noticed that North-Eastern part has been considered somewhat "low" (vis-a-vis North-West). Nord-Pas de Calais is almost Belgium and there are lots of beautiful cities and townships; OK, I agree, that climate leaves a lot to be desired :)There are 2 funny groups of scenes: a) on the postal route and b) welcoming the wife, when the 2 main male actors are able to show their skills and brilliance... In short, Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis is OK watching, but a bit overrated; Intouchables is much better. At least for a non-Frenchman like me.

I got the DVD of this movie as a birthday gift from some in-laws who watched it on an international plane flight and (for some reason), thought I would enjoy it. I mostly stick with Hollywood movies, so I had no idea what to expect from "Bienvenue a la Chtis", but I gave the DVD a spin over the holidays when things were slow...and I ended up truly enjoying the film.Admittedly there isn't anything especially new about the premise of the film (story tellers have been riffing on the idea for decades in things like "Northern Exposure", "Doc Hollywood", and even the Pixar movie "Cars"),but these guys know how to put a film together - how to structure a story arc, how to write funny, amusing dialog (even in subtitles, the word play and the jokes about dialects were funny), and in general how keep things moving while still including plenty of telling details and charming character bits.The cast is also very strong; there's a nice group chemistry evident in most scenes, and there isn't a flat tire in the bunch.I still haven't been converted into a French cinephile, but I certainly liked this particular French film and I'm very glad I got a chance to see it.

I remember comedy hour on French radio. I remember imitations of the Bretons, of the Basques, of the Alsatians, of the French speaking Swiss and of Belgians. They are peripheral and therefore funny and not to be taken quite seriously. Now, imagine a Spanish film depicting Galicians (or, worse, Catalans!) as peripheral, kind but stupid yokels. The outcry it would generate! This belittling of regions far from the (so called) cultural centre seems to me a specific French cultural trait. And they want to be the leading nation of Europe. I am not surprised that this movie was a smash hit, everyone likes to see a story set in a pretty little town, where there are no big worries and everybody is kind and helpful (who wouldn't like to live in Bergues after the viewing?) but it's basically presenting a real place as an idyll and hunting for cheap effects. It brings nothing new or interesting to the viewers but some moments of distraction at the expense of a specific region.