Name: Spoiled Brats
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00
Cast: Gérard Jugnot, Camille Lou, Artus, Louka Meliava, François Morel

The scene that sticks is Stella Bartek, the haughty, spendthrift daughter of billionaire Francis, wiping down tables at a Marseille café, her manicured hands trembling as she faces the humiliation of a customer’s sharp criticism. This moment, where Camille Lou’s performance shines with raw vulnerability, encapsulates the central premise of Nicolas Cuche’s Spoiled Brats (2021): a wealthy patriarch’s desperate attempt to teach his entitled offspring the value of hard work.

Cuche’s film is a remake of Gary Alazraki’s Mexican comedy Nosotros los Nobles, transposing the story to the French Riviera. The premise is straightforward: Francis Bartek (Gérard Jugnot), a self-made billionaire, stages his own bankruptcy to force his adult children—Stella, Philippe (Artus), and Alexandre (Louka Meliava)—to confront the realities of work and responsibility. What follows is a series of over-the-top scenarios as each child stumbles through their first jobs, from Stella’s waitressing gig to Philippe’s taxi-bike venture.

The film’s strength lies in its commitment to farcical humor, particularly in the early acts where the siblings’ incompetence is played for laughs. Jugnot’s performance as Francis is a standout, balancing exasperation and genuine concern with a fatherly warmth that grounds the absurdity. The supporting cast, including François Morel as Francis’s friend Ferrucio and Tom Leeb as Stella’s duplicitous fiancé Juan Carlos, add layers of comedic relief.

However, Spoiled Brats falters in its pacing and narrative resolution. The film’s first half is a delightful chaos of slapstick and situational comedy, but the second half struggles to maintain momentum. The subplot involving Juan Carlos feels tacked on, serving as a contrived device to escalate the conflict rather than a natural extension of the story. Additionally, the film’s attempt at emotional payoff in the final act falls flat, with the reconciliation between Francis and his children feeling rushed and unearned.

The film’s originality is further hampered by its reliance on well-worn tropes of the comedy genre. The fish-out-of-water antics of the spoiled siblings have been done before, and Spoiled Brats doesn’t bring enough fresh perspective to distinguish itself. While the film’s critique of wealth and entitlement is timely, it lacks the sharp social commentary found in similar films like Parasite.

In terms of genre fit, Spoiled Brats adheres closely to the conventions of comedy, delivering laughs through its exaggerated scenarios and character dynamics.

Tags: comedies, Camille Lou, Artus, Gérard Jugnot, Nicolas Cuche, Spoiled Brats