I’ve never hidden the fact that I like modern French cinema. Luc Besson has made at least three of my all time top twenty favourite films. Another director with three in my twenty was Jean-Pierre Jeunet. I say “was” because Bigbug has joined the others to give him four. His previous three entries in my list were Delicatessen, Amélie, and Micmacs.
While Delicatessen was actually mononymous, Amélie was more fully known as Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, and Micmacs was known in France as Micmacs à Tire-Larigot. Bigbug has gone back to single word basics. Incidentally, if anyone’s interested my Besson Favourites are La Femme Nikita, Léon: The Professional, and The Fifth Element.
The World’s Most Indispensable Movie App
The RunPee app tells you the best times to
run & pee during a movie
so you don't miss the best scenes.
Download the RunPee app.
100% free (donation supported)
Bigbug is set in a nearish future which has everything automated and run by advanced AI equipped androids and smart home systems. Just as Amazon and Facebook manage to show you an advert for something you’ve just mentioned to your wife, there are huge advertising drones flying around and, at exactly the right moment, they loom up at your window and tell of exactly the product you need using the voice and image of Juliette Wiatr.
I’ve Got This Terrible Pain In All The Diodes Down My Left Side
Robots and androids are available in a range of appearances; from little tank like things that scuttle round cleaning up spills to life like, life size domestic servants (Monique – Claude Perron) and personal trainers (Greg – Alban Lenoir). Unfortunately, there’s an android uprising by the most advanced androids known as the Yonyx and led by Yonyx 7389XAB2 (François Levantal).
Rather than going nuclear a la Skynet they snarl everyone up in an enormous traffic jam before taking a more direct, and personal, approach. However, the domestic robots have decided to look after their human charges and put the house into a high security lock down. The house was occupied its owner, Alice Barelli (Elsa Zylberstein), her “gentleman friend” Max (Stéphane De Groodt), and Max’s son Léo (Hélie Thonnat).
Due to comedic requirements, the house has also become host to Alice’s ex Victor (Youssef Hadji), his new girlfriend/secretary Jennifer (Claire Chust), Alice and Victor’s daughter Nina (Marysole Fertard), and the neighbour Françoise (Isabelle Nanty). All the extra guests arrived mere nanoseconds before the house recognised the threat and locked them in for their own safety.
Brain The Size Of A Planet And They Tell Me To Take You Up To The Bridge
Bigbug is a visual delight. It is shot with a similar bright palette to the one used in Amélie and the house of the future is filled with clever and amusing “aids” that you might have seen in Micmacs. There is also a similar feeling to the one you got when you watched Jim Carrey in The Mask…how much of the facial gymnastics was done in camera and how much is CGI!
Sometimes the humour runs to a high tech version of slapstick. For instance, a mini security drone is swallowed by Françoise’s dog. The dog runs into the house and promptly throws up his lunch and the drone. The drone reboots, takes off and flies around the house, instantly becoming a dog vomit aerosol dispenser. Heavy handed? A bit. Funny? I definitely did one of those “Eugh, yuck” laughs. To be fair, though, a lot of the humour is way more subtle.
What people are saying
about the RunPee app.
This is a great app. I wish more people would support it
This app provides info about movies, reviews, ratings from people who have seen it before and after viewing. It has links to info about the movies. It let’s you know when there will be a lull in the action and how long it will last. If you want to know what happens during that time, you can check the brief synopsis (you have to click a link, so no accidental spoilers). It has a timer you can set (silent) to alert you to a break. It also tells you whether there is anything extra during or after the credits. It’s really a wonderful app. I’ve subscribed for a couple of years to support the developers, but I noticed some of the links to provide feedback didn’t seem to work today. They also made it free, with voluntary donations to see the pee-times. If you haven’t tried it, I encourage you to do so, and subscribe if you like it. I really hope the app is supported so it can continue to be maintained!
Developers note: RunPee doesn’t make much money but it supports itself nicely. Donations are appreciated, but not required. We’ll add as many movies to the database as we can until there are no more movie theaters.
View all reviews
Apple App Store | Google Play Store
Download RunPee app
I think I have made it clear that I’m a fan of Jean-Pierre Jeunet so there’s no surprise that I enjoyed Bigbug. I found it clever, funny, and lovely to look at. The only thing I’d complain about is that Dominique Pinon has a woefully small cameo and, while she appears in the credits, I missed Julie Ferrier altogether! Still, great fun and made this month’s Netflix bill worth every penny.
Movie Grade: A
https://youtu.be/N-sWlgFhUGo
Don’t miss your favorite movie moments because you have to pee or need a snack. Use the RunPee app (Androidor iPhone) when you go to the movies. We have Peetimes for all wide release films every week, including Red One, Venom: The Last Ride , Transformers One, The Wild Robot and coming soon Wicked, Gladiator II, Moana 2 and many others. We have literally thousands of Peetimes—from classic movies through today’s blockbusters. You can also keep up with movie news and reviews on our blog, or by following us on Twitter @RunPee. If there’s a new film out there, we’ve got your bladder covered.
Leave a Reply