In a movie where society marches on, comedy strikes!
Le Gendarme et les Gendarmettes (The Gendarme and the Gendarmettes) is a 1982 French comedy film starring Louis de Funès, Michel Galabru and Claude Gensac. It is the sixth and last installment of the Gendarme de Saint-Tropez series, as well as the last film de Funès appeared in before his death.
Four young and beautiful female gendarmerie officers come to learn from the old gendarmes but it turns out they are coping much better with problems than their teachers (the fact that the entire old male brigade is Distracted by the Sexy doesn't help). Things get hotted up when the "gendarmettes" are kidnapped one by one.
Le Gendarme et les Gendarmettes provides examples of:
- The '80s: A computer arrives in the police office.
- All Bikers are Hells Angels: The bikers Perlin and Christine Rocourt confront are criminals.
- Accidental Pervert: Cruchot is mistaken for a pervert several times. Notably by the Mother Superior of the convent (where the Gendarmettes are bunking), and by his wife Josépha.
- The nun catches him when he is watching with binoculars Beaupied and Yo Macumba on the beach.
- The nun catches him again when he gets into the convent to chase a gendarme who has a rendez-vous with a gendarmette. She calls Josépha to denounce him.
- The nun catches him again when he comes back to the police office disguised as a gendarmette.
- Josépha finds two gendarmettes in underwear in her flat and she runs mad.
- Action Girl: The four gendarmettes are able to neutralize all the bad guys thanks to their fighting skills.
- Batman Gambit: The colonel's scheme: planting fake military plans in the gendarmes' computer, hiding the secret code to access it in the gerdarmettes' bracelets and letting know the big bad about it, because he knew the gendarmes would somehow save the day and arrest the spy.
- Big Damn Hero: Subverted. When the gendarmes arrive on board of the ship where Cruchot, Mrs. Gerber and the gendarmettes are held captive, the gendarmettes already have the situation under control: Cruchot and Mrs. Gerber are free and the bad guys are their prisoners.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: The Mother Superior borrows Cruchot's "Foutez-moi l'camp ! Foutez-moi l'camp !", when she catches him in the convent.
- Chase Scene: Perlin and a female colleague are chased by a gang of bikers.
- Chekhov's Gun: The computer does not seem relevant to the plot until it is revealed that it contains military secrets that can be accessed thanks to a code hidden in the gendarmettes' bracelets.
- Da Chief: The colonel.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Fougasse, Merlot and Taupin are not there any more and nobody notices.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Josépha and Mrs. Gerber.
- The day the gendarmettes arrive in the police office, Josépha and Mrs. Gerber find their husbands in a embarrassing situation with their new female colleagues and they get angry.
- Josépha thinks Cruchot had a rendez-vous with a gendarmette in the convent (actually it was Gerber and Cruchot was spying on him). She gets angry again.
- Mrs. Gerber when she finds two gendarmettes in underwear in her flat.
- Josépha in exactly the same situation.Josépha: I will kill him, I will kill myself, and then I will demand divorce!
- Continuity Nod: In the police office's cellar, a tin trunk that was used in Le Gendarme à New York is visible.
- Contrived Coincidence: The message transmitted by the female gendarme is received by sister Clotilde.
- Damsel out of Distress: The gendarmettes and Mrs. Gerber are kidnapped. They are held prisoner on a boat and the gendarmes have to save them. Finally, when the gendarmes arrive on the boat, the gendarmettes have freed themselves, Cruchot and Mrs. Gerber. They also have neutralized all the bad guys.
- Disguised in Drag:
- A young man with long hair is forced to disguise as a gendarmette by Cruchot.
- Cruchot disguises as a gendarmette as bait for the bad guys, rather than letting his wife take the role.
- Dismantled MacGuffin: The gendarmettes' bracelets contain a part of a secret code. The four bracelets are necessary to get the full code to enter into the computer.
- Distracted by the Sexy: When Tricard tries to learn a gendarmette how to regulate traffic, the drivers are distracted and many accidents occur.
- Dream Sequence: Cruchot dreams of Yo Macumba dancing just after meeting the gendarmettes.
- Drives Like Crazy: Sister Clotilde, as usual, after receiving the SOS message from the gendarmettes.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: The computer reveals Cruchot's full name: Ludovic Maryvonne Cruchot (for the non-francophones: yup, that's a female name).
- Evil Cripple: The Big Bad is wheelchair-bound.
- Fair Cop: The four gendarmettes are young and beautiful.
- Fakin' MacGuffin: The military plans the big bad has stolen from the computer thanks to the code are fake. The colonel reveals this was a trap to arrest him.
- Glad I Thought of It: Inverted. Gerber pretends it was Cruchot's idea to go to the train station, whereas it was his.
- Hands-On Approach: Tricard has to teach a gendarmette to regulate traffic. It ends up as a Spontaneous Choreography.
- Head-Turning Beauty: The four gendarmettes have this effect on the gendarmes, in particular when the gendarmes welcome them in their office. Cruchot and Gerber lose their senses and they do not immediately realize that their wifes are back. The wifes are furious when they see them with the gendarmettes.
- Heroic Seductress:
- A gendarmette flirts with a henchman in a bar to get on the boat.
- In the end, the gendarmettes charm the bad guy to free themselves.
- Hostage for MacGuffin: The four gendarmettes and Mrs. Gerber are captured. Cruchot helps the bad guys to get some military secret in exchange for their freedom.
- Instant Convertible: Done by Sister Clotilde
with a wooden barrier, during her Drives Like Crazy moments, when she needs to go to Saint-Tropez as fast as possible after receiving the SOS message from the gendarmettes. It's only part of the complete trashing she proceeds to inflict on her poor 2CV. - Last Request: The kidnappers agree to grant a last request to the gendarmettes before killing them. The gendarmettes ask to have sex with them.
- Leave No Witnesses: The reason why the Big Bad orders to kill the gendarmettes, Cruchot and Mrs. Gerber.
- Mistaken for Special Guest: Cruchot and Gerber at first think that a group of unattractive female tourists is the gendarmettes they are waiting for in the train station. They propose to carry their luggage.
- Ms. Fanservice: The gendarmettes, in particular Christine Rocourt (Catherine Serre) and Yo Macumba (Nicaise Jean-Louis), who appear partially naked in numerous scenes. Those two models/actresses previously appeared in Moonraker as two of the scantily-clad "perfect race" girls of Hugo Drax.
- Cruchot dreams of Yo Macumba dancing half-naked just after meeting her.
- After being chased by a gang of bikers, Perlin ends up in a tree with Christine Rocourt. He involuntarily removes her skirt.
- Yo Macumba is seen in bikini on the beach with Beaupied.
- Christine Rocourt and Yo Macumba in underwear have to hide in Gerber's and then in Cruchot's flat. Josépha finds them and undresses herself too.
- Christine Rocourt and Yo Macumba are seen in underwear again when they charm the bad guys to free themselves.
- Nuns Are Funny: Sister Clotilde appears several times and there are several scenes in the convent.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: A small scene seems to imply Cruchot is a bit sexist and racist.Ludovic Cruchot: Women in Gendarmery! And to top it all off, a black one! Josepha, we are living the agony of a civilization, the end of a world!
- Removable Steering Wheel: Gerber berates Cruchot for not driving their Jeep fast enough, and finally commands "Passez-moi le volant." Thus Cruchot pulls out the wheel without stopping first and gives it to Gerber, who plugs it back on his side. And then keeps driving.
- Sexy Scandinavian: Perlin is attracted by a Swedish girl who passes in front of the new police office.
- Show Some Leg: In the end, the four gendarmettes flirt with the bad guys to free themselves.
- Spontaneous Choreography: Tricard and a gendarmette perform one instead of regulating traffic.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Perlin (Patrick Préjean) replaces Taupin (Jean-Pierre Rambal) who appeared in Le Gendarme et les extra-terrestres as a substitue for Merlot (Christian Marin).
- Token Minority: Yo Macumba (Nicaise Jean-Louis) is the only black person in the film.
- Visual Pun: The Removable Steering Wheel scene. "Passez-moi le volant." ("Give me the steering wheel.") is a standard expression in French to ask for the driving seat. Here, however, it is taken literally with Cruchot unplugging the wheel and giving it to Gerber, who plugs it back on his side. While the car is still rolling.
- You Said You Would Let Them Go: After Cruchot has helped the big bad to get some military secret, he expects him to free the gendarmettes and Mrs. Gerber, as agreed earlier. The big bad had other plans and he orders to kill the hostages and Cruchot.
