25th Les Olivier Gala | Bring back Katherine Levac, STAT!

It’s difficult to understand how the Gala Les Olivier can go from a frankly successful edition, that of last year with Katherine Levac at the helm, to another boring one, devoid of punch and without rhythm, that of Sunday evening presented on the airwaves of Radio-Canada.

Besides, congratulations to all the brave viewers who survived so many denture and Billy Tellier gags in a single evening. This is an achievement worth highlighting.

The chemistry between the hosts Eve Côté and Cathy Gauthier did not work on screen. Of the two, Eve Côté was the strongest and most precise in the opening number, while her colleague Cathy Gauthier seemed nervous and often got bogged down in her text (not very funny), which broke the cadence of the show.

Obviously, complicity cannot be forced, it is forged. Eve Côté is used to interacting on stage with an accomplice, Marie-Lyne Joncas, from Les Grandes Crues. Not Cathy Gauthier, who seemed destabilized by the duo formula and who shouted a lot into her microphone. If at least she had shouted funny jokes, it would have been more tolerable.

Also, what a waste to get the legends Steve Martin and Martin Short to participate and ask them such banal, zero-inventive questions in front of a cheapo board. It was peak-peak. And it was embarrassing.

Let’s also say it: it wasn’t a great year for humor, which resulted in a less polished list of nominees than usual. When the public gives the Olivier of the year to an artist who has hardly practiced humor, Mathieu Dufour, it is a sign that this prize does not work.

Fortunately, Philippe-Audrey Larrue-St-Jacques saved the honor of his profession with two thoughtful, intelligent and touching speeches. Unfortunately, not all of them have! did not have this elegance in their thanks. After his first trophy, Billy Tellier used some lame wording to congratulate himself on making a living by intimidating people, or something clumsy like that.

The pairs of presenters did not raise the roof of the Pierre-Mercure room either. Even François Pérusse, my idol, offered a very average and repetitive vignette, like a piece by Tata Boutlamine.

These numbers were always too long. Example: Cathy Gauthier who verbally attacked Claude Meunier for endless minutes. Cut! At the same time, we understand comedians keep the best material for their own shows. Why burn good stock, like that, in a vacuum?

At the end of the ceremony, Stéphane Rousseau was hilarious in presenting the last trophy. Take notes here: it pays to push yourself and rehearse your lines.

The gap between the faultless gala of Katherine Levac and that of Eve Côté and Cathy Gauthier was striking. There was a theme and direction to the party led by Katherine Levac, while Eve Côté and Cathy Gauthier shot everywhere without aiming at the target. Even their lemon prices didn’t provoke grimaces.

The introductory video, where the two hosts hunted the clowns in their natural habitat, nevertheless announced great things, with funny appearances from Chantal Machabée, Denis Lévesque, Katherine Levac (as spokesperson for the SAAQ) and even Steve Martin and Martin Short, what an impressive take, I insist.

Then, slow down with the musical number inspired byLive from the universe, which paired performers (2Frères, Marie Denise Pelletier, Pierre Lapointe) with funny songs written by comedians (Yvon Deschamps, Les Denis Drolet, Laurent Paquin). Sympathetic, but not transcendent.

From the first minutes, Eve Côté and Cathy Gauthier attacked Martin Matte, “the man condemned to excellence who has visibly finished his sentence”. Biting, Cathy Gauthier continued, still on Martin Matte: “we thought he was a bad actor, we had not yet seen him host”. Julien Lacroix, Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge and Gilbert Rozon were not scratched as much, that is to say.

In comparison with the ADISQ or the Gémeaux, whose quality remains high, year in, year out, the Les Olivier Gala has had a reputation for instability and inequality for many moons. This 25^e ceremony has just proven it to us again.

Zap! and bam! for Batman and Robin!

Paralympic athlete Frédérique Turgeon, 25, cried, whined, sulked, bawled and threatened to give up if her opponents Big Brother Celebrities did not tell him the truth about his fate in the game. Here’s one that needed an Energex boost from Adrien Gagnon.

To knead the minds of her roommates, Frédérique known as Fredski repeated shocking sentences, soaked in emotion and steeped in guilt, which almost made Olympian Charles Hamelin flinch: I feel alone, I find it dog, I find It’s disgusting, I’ve been made to feel stupid, I’ve been told shit.

To which no one dared to respond: well yes, Fredski, people lied to you, get over it. It’s boring, it’s annoying, but that’s the game. There’s scheming, deception, but above all, a majority group that has controlled the house since the third week.

This no-name Alliance, made up of Charles Hamelin, YouTuber Gabrielle Marion, comedian Danick Martineau and comedian Dave Morgan, executed its plan to progress as far as possible. And everything worked out for them.

In a minority position, Frédérique Turgeon missed several opportunities to overthrow power, in particular by rejecting the hands extended by screenwriter Daniel Savoie and actress Joëlle Paré-Beaulieu. Fred also completely froze in the Supper in the Dark challenge, which put her, once again, on the elimination block. The pair of Braillardes that she formed with Gabrielle Marion were obviously separated in tears, how else could they be dissolved?

Conversely, Danick Martineau, the Robin of the Batman and Robin duo, has won all the events for two weeks. He improves his CV for the jury, and these series victories will not harm him. On the other hand, Danick’s coldness and detachment from evictions make him unsympathetic, in comparison with the more human attitude of Charles Hamelin, alias Batman, who does the dirty work (by blocking Fred at the diamond vet), but who experiences sincere remorse in front of a comrade to be sacrificed.

Barring a more interesting magic trick than that of Chuckadabra, the finale of Big Brother Celebrities will argue between Charles and Danick. Danick is more likely to triumph with Dave or Gabrielle by his side. Same scenario for Charles. Now, which of Batman or Robin will betray the other by delivering a fatal “ka-pow”? In the betting room, I would bet all my chips on Danick.