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Happy Easter

Happy Easter (Joyeuses Pâques)

Movie · 1984 · 3 people

Georges Lautner directed the French-language comedy Happy Easter (French: Joyeuses Pâques) in 1984; its title is the Easter greeting. Adapted from Jean Poiret's 1980 stage play of the same title, it is an action-flavoured comedy of mistaken identity and runs about 93 minutes. Jean-Paul Belmondo, a French cinema star, leads the cast, with Sophie Marceau and Marie Laforêt alongside him.

The set-up is simple: a married but unfaithful businessman is caught by his wife with a much younger woman, and to save himself he introduces her as his daughter from an earlier marriage. The invented story drags him into a run of misunderstandings and hurried explanations, and the humour comes out of that tangle of identities. Besides Belmondo, Marceau and Laforêt, the cast lists Michel Beaune, Gérard Hernandez, Henri Cogan, Jean Panisse, Laurent Natrella, Maurice Auzel, Rosy Varte and Rémy Julienne.

The screenplay was written by Lautner together with Poiret. The film opened in France on 24 October 1984 and in West Germany on 22 March 1985, where it was released as Fröhliche Ostern; in Bulgaria it circulated as Veseli praznitsi.

DirectorGeorges Lautner

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Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Belmondo Film actor · died at 88 Sophie Marceau Sophie Marceau Actor · 59 years old Rémy Julienne Rémy Julienne Actor · died at 90

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Through different eyes

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

It is billed as a mix-up comedy with a solid dose of action, and with Belmondo around the energy never runs low. Every new lie on top of the last pushes the pace up, and the identity game with Sophie Marceau keeps things lively. But this is no thriller; the stakes mostly stop at saving a marriage. Fine for light fun, not enough if you want real action.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

The joke of the film is built on cheating: a married man, caught by his wife, introduces a young woman as his daughter. The humour comes from that lie, so it is a tricky subject to explain to children. It is not for little ones. For teenagers and adults it is a light, fun comedy, but turning infidelity into a joke may not sit well with some families.

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

Seeing Belmondo and Sophie Marceau in the same frame is a pleasant reunion for lovers of eighties European cinema. The structure inherited from Jean Poiret's stage play shows: a mix-up comedy driven by misunderstandings and flustered explanations. Yet for an eye used to the subtle comedies of the old masters, the humour may feel too loud, and it is hard to warm to a hero who cheerfully tries to cover up an affair. Belmondo's charisma carries the scenes, but this film plays for laughs rather than for the heart.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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