Bellefleur | A new life, life

It feels so good to watch Beautiful flowerthe new dramatic comedy from the Crave platform, the first two episodes of which are released on Thursday.

It’s sweet, it’s caring, it’s funny, it’s moving and it’s very modern. The five straight men, late thirties, early forties, that the series highlights do not fall into the “asshole” sector. On the contrary. Beautiful flower shows us intelligent and sensitive guys, united by a friendship dating back to high school.

In short, it is a “gang of friends” who are not toxic, who have their faults, of course, but who show their vulnerability, who hug each other and say “I love you”, yes, yes .

And no, no, it’s not cheesy. And no, no, these men are not less “manly” because they express emotions, instead of repressing them like in their grandparents’ time.

We follow the episodes of Beautiful flower and we feel the same attachment as towards the characters of Life, life, almost 25 years ago. We would like to join their friends’ dinners. We would like our single friends to meet these good and committed men. But where are they hiding, lord? Manifest yourself !

Co-written by Sarah-Maude Beauchesne (Fork, Slush heart) and her fiancé Nicola Morel, Beautiful flower refers to the protagonist Nicolas Bellefleur (excellent Guillaume Laurin), a comedian with a big heart who falls in love with the nutritionist Ariane (Charlotte Aubin), pregnant to the eyeballs of a man who disappeared into the mist, adios, amiga, je me flex.

Rather than leaving, too, Nicolas Bellefleur stayed and raised little Émile with Ariane for the first three years of his life. Until the breakup. Nicolas, who loves his role as step-dad, hopes to maintain a link with Émile, 3 years old, whom he considers his own son. Ariane, who initiated the separation, refuses. Nicolas loses his temper and seeks legal solutions to see Émile again.

With a broken soul, Nicolas lands in the beautiful house of his big brother Maxime (Maxime de Cotret), in Sherbrooke. Maxime, a respected lawyer, lives with general practitioner Claudie (Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse), pregnant with their long-desired first child.

Nicolas Bellefleur’s group of friends also includes Yann (Marc-André Grondin), an English teacher at a high school in Sherbrooke, in a relationship with doctoral student Raphaëlle (Sarah-Maude Beauchesne), who does not wish to have children.

It’s nice to see Marc-André Grondin in a funnier, less dark role than what he usually plays. His English teacher, who speaks English very poorly (long live Duolingo), is super friendly, steeped in insecurity and nostalgia. The scene where Yann undergoes a vasectomy is really well written and performed.

Another couple gravitates into Nicolas Bellefleur’s close guard, namely Minh (Jean Bui), who has two daughters with Marie (Marilyn Castonguay), who suffers from aggressive cancer.

Then, there is the trucker Alex (Guillaume Cyr), separated from Sabrina (Nathalie Doummar) due to cheating and father of a teenager (André Kasper) with whom the connection no longer passes.

The half hours of Beautiful flower, very compact, spin at lightning speed. The first episode effectively presents the protagonists of the series and Nicolas’ breakup allows the gang to come together and stick together. The text contains several good gags about electric longboards, natural wine lovers and guys who trim their pubic hair.

The model of feminist man put forward by Beautiful flower don’t run the streets, it must be said. At the same time, we don’t ask the screenwriters to make observational documentaries.

In Beautiful flower, men share the mental load and do not run away at the first matrimonial jolt. In Beautiful flowerthe hero fights to remain in the life of his stepson, while many of his comrades would have been relieved to relieve themselves of this responsibility.

In Beautiful flower, men seek emotional support outside their relationship. They open up to their boyswith whom they discuss something other than the fourth trio of the Montreal Canadiens for 45 minutes.

In Beautiful flower, a man is capable of finding “sex” in another man without it hiding a repressed homosexuality. Moreover, at the end of the fourth episode, without giving away, a heterosexual character very concerned about his image and what people think of him will feel desire for a work colleague (Antoine Yared), attractive and enigmatic.

You reread these last sentences and are probably thinking: so, are the guys from Beautiful flower are all saints, without blemish and without reproach? Nope. Our heroes deal with adultery, emotional blockages, jealousy and lack of self-confidence.

What stands out the most from this television novelty is the actor Guillaume Laurin, who plays the title role. We saw it in Fork, Witches And The candidatebut it’s Beautiful flower which will allow him to charm all of Quebec with his character of “good Jack”, whom we would all like to have in our entourage.