Okay, 'Ménage' (1986) - What the heck did I just watch?!
So, I just finished watching 'Ménage' (or 'Tenue de Soirée' as it's apparently called originally) and... wow. I'm genuinely not sure how to feel. I'm on this classic movie deep dive and this one definitely took me for a ride. I'd never heard of Bertrand Blier before, but this movie had me laughing THEN squirming, often within the same scene. The plot is insane - this down-on-their-luck couple, Antoine and Monique (can't pronounce the actress' name tbh, Miou-Miou maybe?), meet this total wildcard named Bob (Depardieu kills it, BTW) who just... completely upends their lives. Stealing everything, seducing Antoine... it's a lot. Honestly, I started this movie thinking it would be a quirky comedy, and it IS, but like... a really twisted one. There are some moments that are genuinely hilarious, like when Bob teaches Antoine how to pickpocket. Depardieu is just so over-the-top and charismatic, even when he's being awful. But then there's the stuff with Monique... And the ending! I don't even know what to make of the ending. I’m gonna need a rewatch, I think maybe I missed something. What really got to me was how uncomfortable it made me. Like, the movie doesn't shy away from… anything, really. It felt very European art house in ways that I guess I'm still adjusting to (this is my first time watching anything like this). I'm not sure I liked it, exactly, but I can't stop thinking about it. It's definitely stuck with me more than some of the other stuff I've been watching. Has anyone else seen this? What did you think? Am I just completely missing the point? Is it supposed to be this disturbing? I am gonna need a good explaination of what the heck was going on!
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