“You can’t adopt him.”

In the French comedy Apres Vous maitre d’ Antoine (Daniel Auteuil) saves Louis (Jose Garcia) from suicide. Antoine feels responsible for Louis and takes him home–much to the dismay of Antoine’s girlfriend, Christine (Marilyne Canto) whose objections are overruled.

The first scene establishes that Antoine is a person who seems unaware of just where his responsibilities begin and end. Incapable of setting boundaries, he tries repairing Louis’s life, and Antoine’s life spirals out-of-control in the process. Louis is unemployed and depressed over his break up with long-term girlfriend, Blanche (Sandrine Kiberlain). Terminal unemployment and a broken love affair are two monumental obstacles to happiness, but Antoine doesn’t hesitate to tackle both problems–he gets Louis a job as a Sommelier, and then begins the hard part of getting Louis back with his ex-girlfriend.

The funniest parts of director Pierre Salvadori’s film take place at the restaurant where the two men work. It’s absurd to imagine that Antoine and Louis could carry off the deception necessary to land Louis the job, but if you go along with that fantasy, there’s a chuckle or two. The film’s lack of humour can be blamed on two basic problems–a suicide is not amusing, so the first few scenes of the film (which set up the rest of the story) are not funny. Louis and Antoine form a team, and for the purposes of the film they are codependents. Unfortunately, while their relationship should create the basis for a farce, both together (and apart) they’re annoying to one degree or another. Louis is the lost puppy whose inertia grates after a while, and Antoine’s role is frenzied and doesn’t keep time with the film’s overall pacing. This isn’t a bad film–it’s mediocre. In French with English subtitles.