Dabadie,
a friend who wishes you well

PostED ON OCTOBER 11, 2016 AT 10PM

© Institut Lumière / Photo Jean-Luc Meige

Moviegoers humming Ma preference or On ira tous au paradis, who crack up laughing when Mouchy Messina berates his son Simon: "Now, I have to write to come!" No doubt, it's called the Dabadie effect. In the Institut Lumière cinema, we were already smiling to ourselves at the thought of seeing the cult hit, Pardon Mon Affaire, co-written by Jean-Loup Dabadie and director Yves Robert. "I loved this movie and I'm a big fan of Guy Bedos!" exclaimed Florence Foare, a regular at the festival.

Jean-Loup Dabadie and Guy Bedos made their entrance on Monday at the Institut Lumière to a packed house and enthusiastic applause. It was the chance for the famous duo to receive a standing ovation and share some anecdotes with the audience… "I wrote the script like I write to family," said Jean-Loup Dabadie. He then revealed how the famous "Pardon" film came into being: "During a lunch with Yves Robert, we said, why not do a film among friends, with just us?" Jean-Loup, Guy, "Claudio," "Jean-Jean" and Lanoux thus got together and the Yves Robert gang was born. "Founding it together was a perfect fit, like hand-in-glove," summarized Dabadie.

For Guy Bedos, joining this five star cast was obvious. "Jean-Loup is my best friend- I wasn't going to play hard to get!" Forty years after the release of the film, the actor couldn't hide his emotion before the captivated audience: "I am very proud and very moved - all of this is touching to me." A sentiment shared by his lifelong friend, who declared, "The Lumière festival is wonderful!" To which Thierry Frémaux responded, "What's wonderful is you." We agree!

Laura Lepine