Happy New Year

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

Movie Info

The ever-reliable Claude Lelouch serves up another romance-and-adventure combination plate with Happy New Year. Simon (Lino Ventura) is doing prison time, due to a jewel-theft caper. The police still have not recovered the loot, so Simon gets an early release so that they can track him to it. He is wise to their intentions, however, and loses his tail early on. Nonetheless, his search for his old partner Charlot (Charles Gerard) leads him to reminisce about the robbery itself, and the events that led up to it. With the encouragement of his partner in crime, who honorably gives him his share, he looks up his old flame (Françoise Fabian) even though he knows she is now seeing someone else. The story of their current love's rekindling coincides with a retelling of how they became lovers in the first place. Originally released in 1973 as La Bonne Année, Happy New Year was remade in America in 1987 with Peter Falk, Charles Durning and Wendy Hughes.

Rating:

PG
Genre:

Art House & International, Comedy, Romance
Directed By:

Claude Lelouch
Written By:

Claude Lelouch, Pierre Uytterhoeven
In Theaters:

Apr 13, 1973 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Aug 12, 2003
Runtime:

155 minutes
Studio:

Films 13

Cast

Lino Ventura
as Simon

Francoise Fabian
as Françoise

Charles Gérard
as Charlot

André Falcon
as Jeweler

Claude Mann
as Intellectual

Frederic de Pasquale
as Lover

Bettina Rheims
as Salesgirl

Mireille Mathieu
as Herself / Elle-même

Lilo
as Madame Félix

Gerard Sire
as Prison Director

Silvano Tranquilli
as The Italian Lover

Andre Barello

Norman de la Chesnaye

Michel Bertay
as chauffeur de taxi

Pierre Edeline

Pierre Pontiche

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Critic Reviews for Happy New Year

All Critics (5) | Top Critics (3)

More baloney from Claude Lelouch.

Jan 15, 2008 | Full Review…

Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
It bubbles occasionally, but like low-calorie club soda.

Jan 15, 2008 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic
Any exploration of such cynicism is largely dissipated by the surfeit of Gallic charm.

Jan 15, 2008 | Full Review…

Time Out
Top Critic
An entertaining but vacuous effort from Claude Lelouch.

Jan 15, 2008 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

TV Guide
He tried a harsher approach in this introspective comedy caper flick but, as the relationship between Ventura and Fabian proves, he could never resist the roses.

Jan 15, 2008 | Full Review…

Film4 Staff
Film4

View All Critic Reviews (5)

Audience Reviews for Happy New Year

Feb 26, 2012

"La Bonne Annee" starts with Simon(Lino Ventura) getting a New Year's parole from jail which stops him from doing anything desperate like his fellow inmate who goes for the old fake gun trick. On the outside, the changes go beyond just his apartment as he finds that he can no longer tell the women from the men at his old favorite nightclub. Seven years previously, things were simpler when he was planning a jewelry heist with Charlot(Charles Gerard) in Cannes when a parallax occurs. The only question is whether it is a blonde or a brunette one. "La Bonne Annee" is a mediocre combined heist movie/romantic comedy. The problems with the movie run deeper than just a leaden pace and a miscast Lino Ventura. Usually he is fine when playing a tough guy but not so much here trying to play a more cerebral type of criminal. Director Claude Lelouch also is guilty of being too academic here with his thoughts on reality versus fantasy that start with the movie within a movie that begins this movie. Then, you have Simon and Charlot also playing other roles in going undercover for the heist. I did like it during a conversation about movies when Simon says he takes risks in deciding which movies to watch. But sometimes like this one, the risk does not pay off.

Walter M Super Reviewer