User reviews

Although the video box described the pairing in this movie as reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy, I think this is greatly overstating things. However, it is still a very good movie and worth your time.

The story concerns the abduction of a VERY unlucky girl and the investigation into her disappearance. Gérard Depardieu is a competent kick-butt detective that is unable to find her after searching 42 days. Then a psychologist suggests to her rich father that they are going about searching in the wrong way--to find such an unlucky girl they should use a man equally as unlucky as they are bound to be drawn to each other! Silly as it may seem, this strategy seems to have something going for it, but Depardieu feels quite miffed that this boob, Pierre Richard, keeps blindly stumbling into important clues.

While this is not the funniest movie, it certainly does offer quite a few laughs. When I find myself laughing out loud, I know it must be a pretty good comedy!

FYI--I probably SHOULD take off another point from the score, as the movie had two stupid moments: in the jungle in Mexico, our heroes encounter a gorilla AND a cobra--this isn't even the right continent for either!!

I spent a fun evening at the movies watching the 1981 comedy 'La Chevre' written and directed by Francis Veber and starring Pierre Richard and Gérard Depardieu. It's quite interesting to see the two French actors at a moment when the paths of their careers were crossing. By the time this film was made Pierre Richard was an established comedian with a few big hits in his records, while (the thinner than today) Depardieu was an ascending young actor but his great roles were still a few years ahead. It was the first out of three films the two actors made together. When the third was made, Depardieu's fame and prestige exceeded by far the one of his partner.

The story of the film is ridiculous by design, and I need to point to one rare moments of disagreement with the opinion of my idol in cinema critic, Roger Ebert who gave just 1.5 stars out of 4 to the film. The pretext of story is meant to be stupid, it's part of the comic design of the script. It goes like this. The daughter of a rich French businessman - beautiful but unlucky in all she does - is kidnapped in Mexico. When all classical means to find her fail, the solution is thought to pair the detective (Depardieu) with a distraught accountant in the businessman's company (Rchard) who is as unlucky and as much a walking catastrophe as the vanished girl. The two are sent to Mexico in the hope that the chains of bad luck will lead to the same place where the girl is being held.

Bad luck and in-adaptation to the the real world are sources of comedy since Laurel and Hardy. Francis Veber brings the genre close to perfection. The Richard - Depardieu couple works perfectly. While Richard is the master of the physical gags, Depardieu complements him and provides the amplifying counterpoint with his annoyed stares and exasperated eyebrows moves. One deploys a lot of energy, the other takes a minimalist approach. The result is explosive. Watching this film is far from being only an exercise in nostalgia, it's the guarantee of a good time spent on really fun comedy.

One more thing - the film is one of the more than 250(!) films that benefit from the music composed by Vladimir Cosma . The score is wonderful.

And a question. I could not figure out or find information about the significance of the title. What does 'Le chevre' ('The Goat') means. It must be some French slang that escapes me. Or something else. Any hint will be appreciated.

Some movie get old well, other don't: this one is rather among the latter: I can't say it's bad but it is not as much fun as I thought it was. I watched it as a kid for sure but I can't remember if it was on screen or at TV. There is some funny moments and for sure this duo always works great and is among the best in french cinema but here the story is a bit far fetched: to find a goofy and unlucky woman in south America, the solution is to send a goofy and unlucky investigator… Well, like Gerard, I'm not really convinced and it's above all very repetitive and totally predictable… The Mexican locations adds a bit exoticism but at the end, it's not in my classics….

A hilarious comedy, and justifiably a box-office smash in France, this is a must-see for fans of the two stars. Richard and Depardieu are at their best while their characters experience mishap after mishap in trying to find a businessman's daughter. Remade a decade later as "Pure Luck", this film stands as further proof that the original usually outshines the remake. Rent this film if you like to laugh.

Pure Luck from 1991 to me is one of the most underrated American comedies of all time. Granted in the 32 years since it's initial release as with many other of Martin Short's films it has gotten the praise it deserves and a second life on home video cable and now streaming.

Was it one of the all time greatest American comedies like Airplane!, It Happened One Night or Some Like it Hot? No of course not it wasn't high art but it was a very likable funny comedy and Martin Short and Danny Glover were a lot of fun together.

It seems like Martin Short is Hollywood's go-to actor when remaking French comedies. The aforementioned and Three Fugitives and Jungle 2 Jungle were also remakes of French films.

Having recently rewatched Pure Luck I knew for years it was an American remake of this particular French film and out of curiosity I have wanted to see this for years but was never able to find it.

Thank goodness for streaming as this and Pure Luck are now easier and more convenient to find than ever before.

Naturally there are some differences between the original and remake.

While Pierre Richard made me laugh a few times with his pratfalls on the whole to me this movie just wasn't as funny as it's American version.

It certainly was interesting to compare both versions nonetheless and while it was far from boring some scenes in this version to me were awkward and out of place.

Granted I saw Pure Luck first so my opinion is biased towards that because it's the version of this story I know the best.

Perhaps if I had seen the original as I did the remake many years ago my opinion would be reversed.

Like The Birdcage the American remake of the French La Cage Aux Folles while it's American counterpart may be more enjoyable as I am an American that's not to say the original French version doesn't have its merits.

Upon viewing this version I learned Pierre Richard is one of France's most popular comedic actors and based on his performance here I can understand why.

Although I watched it with English subtitles I can still tell he has good chemistry with Gerard Deprauidu who plays Danny Glover's character in this original version.

So on the whole it was interesting to see because of my love for Pure Luck and while it won't be as memorable to me as that remake was it's still an ok movie in its own right.

If you liked Pure Luck enough and don't mind reading subtitles I would pair this with it's American version. Stream both of them one after the other.

And to have more enjoyment of this version I would watch it first.

Somehow it's just not as funny if you have seen Pure Luck first but that also doesn't mean it's a bad movie either.

This movie is from 1981 and it shows ... Still, it is one of the (if not THE best one) best comedies I have ever seen. IT IS DEFINITELY A _MUST SEE_ . The acting is terrific and I have not enough praises for the plot.

It is better than the other depardieu/richard/veber movies ("Les Fugitifs" and "Les compères" - Yet they are very funny as well). The actors are excellent and Veber is the recordman about the movies that have been remade by Hollywood - there must be a reason for that. that with the praise of the people that posted their opinion here should convince you to give it a try.

To sum it up : you have to watch it !

Knock on Wood is a classic French comedy. Easy story with an excellent duet of Pierre Richard and Depardieu. Classic comedy of the 80s.

These two actors are great together, and their three films are all funny (La Chevre, Les Comperes, Les Fugitifs), but this one is the best because of its concept that it will take an unlucky detective to find the missing unlucky girl. But he is more than unlucky; he is also a deluded jerk (though not a mean one)who doesn't even know he is unlucky. His partner, a very competent realist (and perfect straight man) has to rescue him time after time to follow his unlucky course toward the girl. Great French humor.

When the bad-luck-prone daughter of a bigwig disappears without a trace, a psychologist comes up with a new methodology - find someone with equally bad luck who can, through misfortune, retrace her steps.

Accountant Pierre Richard has the requisite bad luck and is dispatched to Mexico with a private detective (Gerard Depardieu) to hunt her down.

Whimsical and lowkey, Richard is skilled at physical comedy and the character's overconfidence and seeming comfort with misfortune keep you from feeling too sorry for him as he goes from pratfall to pratfall. Depardieu makes a good straight man, a skeptical tough guy forced to believe bad luck really is a thing.

It's not a hilarious movie, but it is a funny, likable one. Recommended.

I just cannot understand how such a movie can "only "have a weighted average of 6.9 ??? Seen over and over and over with so many different people, I never could find a single person not laughing the whole way through!!! The usual "Different characters" are this time represented by Depardieu and Pierre Richard, both absolutely wonderful!! A must see... If you loved this watch "Les Compères" and "Les fugitifs" with the same Richard/Depardieu tandem even though they are a tone under "La chèvre"...

When a millionaire's daughter goes missing in mexico, who will track her down? They find a guy who is just as accident prone as the bigshot's daughter, and send him on his way. The film is pretty much a collection of unlucky pratfalls for françois perrin, played by pierre richard. Nothing seems to go right for him. Gérard depardieu is campana, who is supervising the operation with perrin. Depardieu was only 33 at the time. Not much of a real plot here, but it's a low key adventure in mexico. Some fun scenery from mexico and france. Lame story and lame acting. Written and directed by francis veber. It's just okay. The translation of subtitles is pretty bad.. don't trust them! Less than optimal for this one!

A dedicated private eye searches for a businessman's daughter in Mexico, but the case is complicated by the amateur sleuthing of the client's accountant.

First of all, it is worth noting that the movie is sadly infamous in Italy for a burning of a cinema in Turin in which it was projected, killing 63 people. So our hearts go out to them, even all these years later.

The comedy is good, the detective angle is just alright. Although I have not seen the remake, my understanding is that Martin Short plays the comedic role. And that is simply perfect casting, because the actor here is very much a Martin Short-esque comedian. Or perhaps Short is influenced by this film?

This is THE masterpiece of funniness. Trust me, the big winner trio (Depardieu, Richard and Veber) shows one more time his talent. On one hand Pignon/Richard is the unluckiest man on earth, all the things you don't even think about happen to him and on the other one there is Depardieu, a cartesian private detective who doesn't believe in fate or luck, he disagrees with these concepts. Actually, by meeting Pignon, his entire life will be turned up side down because they must work together to find Pignon's Headmaster's daughter who was kidnapped in Venezuela. The worse thing will happen to the Laurel-and-Hardy-like team. You almost die of laughing so much. This is the comedy one should have seen once, just as "the Gods must be crazy." The movie is really worth being watched.

I saw this movie back in 1982 when I was about 12 years old. I couldn't stop laughing. Another 12 years later I finally got the VHS... I thought I wasn't going to find it so funny because I was 24 years old, but I laughed even more!.. And keep laughing to this day. The film must have been so successful that this trio (Veber/Depardieu/Richard) made 2 more movies afterward, all of them equally funny. The way the director generates humor from everyday situations, shows a keen sense of observation and a capacity for caricature of the ridiculous in human nature. If one manages to abstract from the fact that it is not exactly a recent movie and if one concentrates on the humor of the situations, attitudes, face expressions, etc... One will easily realize that it is not needed to behave like a clown, falling dressed on a swimming pool or smashing wedding cakes on someone's face... Or screaming vulgar words, to be funny. A true Golden "Oldie", and a definite must see!..

The film seems to me to be the best comedy ever. Both Richard and Depardieu are wonderful. The film abounds in comic situations, but the dialogue is even better - lively, volatile, "French". It is both a comedy of situations and a comedy of words. This film is like a Mont Blanc among comedies. It's a pity that few people bother to vote for it. In Russia a generation grew up laughing at the characters of Richard, and this generation was far from being the worst. His films are pure joy.

This was only Veber's second film as a double-threat (writer-director) and the first to employ the inspired casting of Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard. Its recent re-release on DVD to celebrate its 20th anniversary should make it accessible to a whole new generation too young to have caught it first time around. One only has to read the comments - almost exclusively raves - to guage the quality and I can only add one more voice, slightly hoarse from so much laughter in support. The concept is simplicity itself; take one accident-prone girl and because her father is an industrialist, ergo wealthy, let her predilection for bad luck result in her playing into the hands of kidnappers THEN, instead of hiring a team of SAS/mercenaries to track her down hire just One private investigator and supply him with a human bloodhound in the form of as big a dork as the missing girl. Pierre Richard breathes life into a dork who doesn't wait for a banana skin to trip on, he brings his own. Team him up with a pragmatic Gerard Depardieu who refuses to give house room to the concept of bad luck and just stand back and let them get on with it. The Mexican setting is largely irrelevant, it could just as well have been set in Marseilles but laffs are laffs wherever they occur. The ending is particularly effective - it's always something of a problem to end a story like this - as the two Dorks fall in love as expected but then Veber rounds it off with one last neat and very apposite visual gag. Not to be missed. 10/10

Gerard Depardieu is incredible as a foil for Pierre Richard. This is occasionally shown on cable stations. Look for when it will appear and enjoy a wonderful comedy about a missing French Industrialist's daughter, and how she is found.

This is the kind of movie that you don't really have to read the sub-titles. The acting leads you through the entire picture.

With actors like Depardieu and Richard it is really a hard task to make a dull movie. But Weber is a master in setting a slow pace and making supposedly funny scenes without any wits and depth. This movie is high on story but low on character. You never get to know any of the characters except for superficial slapstick. Unfortunately Weber has no idea what slapstick is all about. His style could be described at hit and miss. Of course some people laugh when they see someone slip on a banana peel. Weber directs his humor at this lot. It is a shame how bad he uses good talent. Many good french comedians have been wasted away by mediocre directors.

With so many scripts such as "The Tall Blond with a Black Shoe", "A Pain in the Ass" and the internationally acclaimed "The Birdcage", Francis Veber already confirmed in the 70's his status as one of the most promising and talented comedic screenwriters of French Cinema, the equivalent of Billy Wilder if we also take his directing into consideration. But in the early 80's, he had only directed one movie called "The Toy", starring Pierre Richard and released in 1976. And although the film was a modest commercial success, it was not until the release of "The Goat" in 1981 that Veber made his deserved entrance in French Comedy's Hall of Fame.

"The Goat" is now regarded as a classic of French comedy and a film that didn't lose its appeal after 30 years. Featuring for the first time the duo made of Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard, who would appear in two other films, the film uses the basic ingredients of the typical buddy movie with the funny guy and the straight one, in other words, the eternal "odd couple", but that's only on the surface, don't let yourself fooled by the poster. Behind the laughter, "The Goat" accomplishes something more impressive, it makes us care for the two characters and not just on a comedic aspect. Indeed, no matter how funny the gags are, what makes the film so impacting is the progressive bond going between Campana (Depardieu) and Perrin (Richard), who'll learn to get along despite their differences. Any other director would have made this material cliché, but Veber always finds the right note, and seems to get the best from the two lead actors, making the supporting cast more forgettable and guilty of providing a false feeling of B-movie. For instance, the movie is set in Mexico, but people there speak good French with no accent whatsoever, these details were perceived as futile precisely because the story was the most important.

I don't want to make the film sound serious when it's indeed a great comedy, still funny and fresh by today's standards. My point is that the core of the film is the relationship transcended by Depardieu and Richard's incredible performances. Pierre Richard is like the 'Steve Martin' of French comedy, with a natural clown-face that made him the perfect lovable loser of French Cinema. Richard plays François Perrin, a modest accountant so unlucky and accident prone that no day of his life passes without him being victim of a misfortune. What could have lead to a series of goofy situations is not overdone in the film as the point is not Perrin's bad luck, but how his bad luck would lead to the rich businessman's daughter, Marie. This point is essential because it explains the failure of the dreadful American remake: "Pure Luck" (starring Danny Glover and Martin Short). Marie appears in the first scenes, she's kidnapped in Mexico and apparently suffers from the same bad-luck syndrome than Perrin. After many fruitless investigations, the father's psychologist suggests that the detective Campana goes back to Mexico with Perrin, feeling that this time, Perrin's bad luck would be the compass guiding them to Marie.

We laugh at this premise that flirts with fantasy, and of course, Campana, the tough-guy detective played by Gerard Depardieu comfort our feelings and embodies our thoughts. He's a no-nonsense guy, reasonable and don't believe in luck or hazard, but It's a last-chance mission and Perrin, after having given a luminous demonstration of his daily bad luck through a funny test involving chairs, is chosen for "his remarkable intelligence and perspicacity" to look for Marie, with Campana as an assistant. The duo works perfectly, because Perrin is not naturally funny, but funny despite himself, he takes his role, his mission so seriously that he's incapable to realize his total incompetence. And we see him trough the condescending eyes of Campana. I read in the Trivia section that Depardieu wanted to play Perrin's part; this proves that he's one hell of an actor, but not much of a casting agent. Depardieu, as the duo's straight-man, is the one who makes the situations funny. When Perrin accidentally burns Campana's tie, it's funny okay but the look on Depardieu's deadpan face is the laugh-out-loud pay-off. Depardieu's reactions are almost as equally hilarious as Richard's clumsiness, if not more.

And as the story progresses, and some of Richard's misadventures start to give clues about Marie's disappearance, we understand that the psychologist's theories are not without validity, but at this precise moment, the focus is more on Depardieu and Richard's odd couple, and its evolution, especially when Campana's confidence about the nonexistence of bad or good luck starts to be seriously shaken, through his companionship with Perrin. At one point, both are in jail with another prisoner, and then they're informed that every day, the guards take one prisoner to beat him badly, Depardieu's pitiful face while looking at Richard, made me laugh so hard, but the twist that went after literally killed me. If only for the 'prison part' which is pure comedy gold, the film deserves to be a classic among the classics. Although, I would have done it without some gags, like the inexcusable gorilla coming from nowhere, while there are no Apes in South America. Apart from this one, the rest works perfectly.

And speaking of South America, the film also possesses an undeniable escapist value from the setting, something that would appeal to every audience, and it's beautifully served by whom I believe to be the greatest French composer ever: Vladimir Cosma. Cosma who scored Veber's films and some of the most classic French comedies beautifully conveys this mix of exoticness and melancholy in his theme and it perfectly serves the film's conclusion, which is as poetic and satisfying as any other movie's endings, magnificently closing the first opus of one of the most defining duos of French comedy: Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard.

This is one of the best french comedies. It has a good plot, humor and acting. Pierre Richard and Gérard Depardieu make a great comic duo. This movie was remade in USA and named "pure luck" but i think french version was funnier and the acting was much better than in American version. Althou if you already seen the American version than there is no point watching this because even jokes were the same in both versions. On the other hand i've watch this one only after watching "pure luck" and i still liked this version more. I don't know what more i could say about this film just watch it. And if you liked this one you should watch other Pierre Richard and Gérard Depardieu films like Les Compères and Les Fugitifs, they all were directed by Francis Veber.

This movie is by far the best comedy (french or otherwise) I have ever seen.

If you haven't already seen it, it is a must. The story is totally original, it is delightful, smart, extremely funny and timeless. The casting is brilliant. Everybody knows that Pierre Richard is one of the best french comedian ever and his interpretation of "Pignon" is flawless, he is at the same time endearing, silly and funny. Nevertheless, in this movie, it is Gérard Depardieu's rough private eye character that, by far, steals the show. His interpretation of "Campana" alone his worth seeing. And, if for no other reason, you just have see how funny this "tough guy" can really be. He will make you double over with his strait to the point one liners. He is nothing less then hilarious. Truly a must.

-hilarious scenes all through the movie

-1 great actor (Gerald Depardieu) and 1 natural comedic actor (Pierre Richard) double the effect of every joke in this movie

note: i saw this movie in it's original french version, i cannot garantee that it is as funny in translation...

Superbe film avec le duo mythique Depardieu Pierre Richard. A voir et revoir.