Whimsy, social commentary fall flat in ‘Micmacs’

  • By Robert Horton Herald Movie Critic
  • Wednesday, June 16, 2010 7:41pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

Give him a bunch of knick-knacks, some baling wire and Scotch tape, and a few garden gnomes, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet will make a movie.

How else can you explain “Micmacs,” a kooky little fantasia from the director of “Amelie” and “City of Lost Children?”

Jeunet is a tinkerer, and he has made a film about tinkerers.

The opening sequence introduces us to Bazil (Dany Boon), a doofus at a video store, who takes a stray bullet in the head but survives. After recovering (the bullet’s still in his noggin, but this hasn’t affected his dazed personality), Bazil falls in with a wacky troupe of misfits living at a junkyard.

You get the idea that living with this crowd is Jeunet’s idea of heaven: a contortionist (Julie Ferrier) and a human cannonball (Dominique Pinon, the delightful troll-faced acrobat from Jeunet’s other films), plus assorted mechanical and linguistic savants making oddball creations out of junk.

When the movie gears up for a plot, it’s to set Bazil upon the arms manufacturers responsible for the bullet in his head (and, as it happens, the land mine that killed his father).

In this, Jeunet surely taps into free-floating antagonism about the fat cats of the world, and he has some fun delivering his own version of a coup de grace to the military-industrial complex.

You’d have to be a former CEO of Halliburton not to enjoy these jokes, and “Micmacs” is indeed easy to take. Jeunet’s visual cleverness is abundant, and the audience that ate up “Amelie” should find much to love about this one.

But I have to say that for a certain segment of the audience, Jeunet’s whimsy can begin to resemble fingernails on a blackboard. And I’m afraid I’m in that sector of the audience; when he decides he’s going to apply his winsome style to something that carries a bit of social comment, Jeunet can fall flat.

To my eyes, the director’s style, which mixes his taste for steampunk gizmos, crazy colors and cartoon characters, is at its best when shaded by ominous material, as in the hilarious “Delicatessen.”

Granted, a movie that begins with the main character getting shot in the head would seem to have a dark side. But “Micmacs” is really just a soft caramel candy with a fancy wrapper.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Photo courtesy of Graphite Arts Center
Amelia DiGiano’s photography is part of the “Seeing Our Planet” exhibit, which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 9 at the Graphite Arts Center in Edmonds.
A&E Calendar for July 10

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Snohomish County Dahlia Society members Doug Symonds and Alysia Obina on Monday, March 3, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How to grow for show: 10 tips for prize-winning dahlias

Snohomish County Dahlia Society members share how they tend to their gardens for the best blooms.

What’s Up columnist Andrea Brown with a selection of black and white glossy promotional photos on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Free celeb photos! Dig into The Herald’s Hollywood time capsule

John Wayne, Travolta, Golden Girls and hundreds more B&W glossies are up for grabs at August pop-up.

The 2025 Audi A3 premium compact sedan (Provided by Audi).
2025 Audi A3 upgradesdesign and performance

The premium compact sedan looks sportier, acts that way, too.

Edmonds announces summer concert lineup

The Edmonds Arts Commission is hosting 20 shows from July 8 to Aug. 24, featuring a range of music styles from across the Puget Sound region.

Big Bend Photo Provided By Ford Media
2025 Ford Bronco Sport Big Bend Increases Off-Road Capability

Mountain Loop Highway Was No Match For Bronco

Cascadia College Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Midori Sakura looks in the surrounding trees for wildlife at the North Creek Wetlands on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Cascadia College ecology students teach about the importance of wetlands

To wrap up the term, students took family and friends on a guided tour of the North Creek wetlands.

Mustang Convertible Photo Provided By Ford Media Center
Ford’s 2024 Ford Mustang Convertible Revives The Past

Iconic Sports Car Re-Introduced To Wow Masses

Kim Crane talks about a handful of origami items on display inside her showroom on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Crease is the word: Origami fans flock to online paper store

Kim’s Crane in Snohomish has been supplying paper crafters with paper, books and kits since 1995.

The 2025 Nissan Murano midsize SUV has two rows of seats and a five-passenger capacity. (Photo provided by Nissan)
2025 Nissan Murano is a whole new machine

A total redesign introduces the fourth generation of this elegant midsize SUV.

A woman flips through a book at the Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Pop some tags at Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley

$20 buys an outfit, a unicycle — or a little Macklemore magic. Sales support the food bank.

Kathy Johnson walks over a tree that has been unsuccessfully chainsawed along a CERCLA road n the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Thursday, July 10, 2025 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How Roadless Rule repeal could affect forests like Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie

The Trump administration plans to roll back a 2001 rule protecting over 58 million acres of national forest, including areas in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie area.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.