In cinema, there are certain concepts that have the good fortune to strike the imagination regardless of the era in which they are revisited. So it is with the one at the heart of the 1976 film The toyfirst production by Francis Veber, future director of The goat and Dinner of idiots. We follow an unemployed man “offered as a gift” by a wealthy businessman to his rotten spoiled son. In 1982, a remake Hollywoodian flopped resoundingly. So here we are in 2023, and said concept is back in its native France for a third version: The new toyco-written and directed by James Huth, to whom we owe the cult Brice of Nice.
Let’s say it straight away, The new toy turns out to be a much more conclusive adaptation than the previous one remake. Much of that is down to the fact that James Huth and his regular co-writer, Sonja Shillito (Happiness Never Comes Alone), did not hesitate to distance themselves from the source, in particular by injecting an emotional charge (sometimes bordering on sentimentalism) into the story. A story, we specify for neophytes, originally very cynical.
However, the main narrative lines remain the same: what’s the point of wanting to fix what isn’t broken? It is above all the many changes made to the title role that make the difference – happy. Once an unemployed journalist, the protagonist is reborn here as a man-child: Samy (Jamel Debbouze, who negotiates the few more dramatic turns with ease).
Irresponsible, Samy multiplies unsuccessful schemes under the increasingly exasperated eye of his pregnant spouse who, on the contrary, is hardworking and militant: another well thought-out novelty.
Pushed against the wall, Samy accepts a position as night watchman in a department store, owned by Philippe Étienne (Daniel Auteuil, perfectly phlegmatic), magnate owning almost half of France.
During a private visit, Alexandre, the only son of Philippe (Simon Faliu, hateful then touching, as required by the role), sets his sights on Samy: the antics of the guard amuse him, also the child-king he demands that we “buy” Samy from him. His father agrees, and, short of money, the principal also.
Mutual lessons
So here is Samy man-object, or finally, man-toy. We can imagine the sequel, quite predictable, but amusing nevertheless, and not devoid of food for thought, starting, precisely, with the notion of money. In this era where the middle class is disappearing and where the divide between ultra-rich and ultra-poor is widening, The new toy skilfully exploits the contrasting backgrounds from which the characters come.
In this respect, the portrait of the city in the suburbs where Samy resides is refreshing in its refusal of the usual clichés. Admittedly, precariousness and poverty, there are, but these do not necessarily rhyme with drugs and crime. For the anecdote, James Huth based himself on the memories of Jamel Debbouze pre-stardom for the development of this component.
We mentioned it from the outset, The new toy offers a supplement of heart absent from the Toy. This depends a lot on the evolution of the relationship between Samy and Alexandre. At first imbued with animosity, it warms up to turn into real affection. In doing so, Samy learns to be a father, while Alexandre, who mourns his deceased mother and his absent father, relearns to be a child and a son.
In front of this spectacle, will Philippe understand that the real wealth is not in a bank account? Ask the question…
Dynamic in its unfolding, colorful in its invoice, The new toy hardly surprising in its generalities, but pleasantly surprising in its particularities.