Louis de Funès's stroll
"Oh Yes I like it! It is delicious!"
— Charles Bosquier (tasting "English" cuisine)
Les Grandes Vacances (The Summer Holiday) is a 1967 French comedy film directed by Jean Girault and starring Louis de Funès and Claude Gensac.
Mr. Charles Bosquier (de Funès) is the headmaster of an elite high school. At the end of the school year, he is furious to hear that his son Philippe has failed his exams. As a punishment, he sends him to a friend's in England so that he can learn English.
Les Grandes Vacances provides examples of:
- All Part of the Show: When Mr. Bosquier and Mr Mac Farrell try to prevent Philippe and Shirley's wedding, the audience thinks that they are actors of the folkloric show.
- Bar Brawl: There is a fight in a sailor's bar between Philippe and his friends and Belgian sailors.
- Bilingual Bonus: Many dialogues in English and Dutch (between Belgian sailors) are not translated in some versions.
- Boarding School: Mr. Bosquier is the headmaster of an elite boarding school.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: Shirley Mac Farrell, who has a ball with Gérard, escapes on Philippe's boat, makes her father think she slept with Michonnet and finally wants to marry with Philippe without his father's consent.
- Butt-Monkey: Stéphane Michonnet. He gets sick from eating mushrooms. He is forced to eat a lot of disgusting English food by Mr. Bosquier. Later, Shirley Mac Farrell rebuffs him, then she makes his father believe he slept with her, so Mr Mac Farrell is furious at him.
- Chase Scene:
- Mr. Bosquier chases his son and Shirley Mac Farrell, who are on a boat with their friends, with his car, then a motorboat, a coal truck, and finally a small car with a big dog.
- Mr. Bosquier and Mr Mac Farrell chase Philippe and Shirley to prevent them from getting married. They use a plane, a coach, and finally a horse carriage.
- Contrived Coincidence:
- Mr. Bosquier continually mistakes a strong man for one of his sons.
- Gérard and Shirley are looking for a place to swim and they bump into Philippe and his friends.
- The Belgian sailors take Mr. Bosquier to the bar where his son is.
- Dean Bitterman: Mr. Bosquier is very strict with his teachers and a total disciplinarian with his students (in particular his own son Philippe), but a complete suck-up to the wealthier families. It's in fact his stern behavior that has pushed Shirley to go on a trip with Phillipe.Charles Bosquier: Mr. Morizot, we have to expect the maximum in order to maintain the tradition of a house like us.
- Dream Sequence: Mr. Bosquier dreams that his son Gérard is a member of a pop group, that he is in love with Shirley and that he himself is the car driver of the young couple.
- Drives Like Crazy: Mr. Bosquier with a coal truck trying to catch his son.
- Elopement: Philippe and Shirley run away to Gretna Green to get married without their parents' consent.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Gérard and Philippe Bosquier. Gérard is obedient and studious, while Philippe failed his exams and runs away with his friends. Subverted, because we finally realize that Gérard is a hypocrite.
- Foreign Exchange Student: The beautiful Shirley comes to France to learn French. She is Philippe's Love Interest. At the same time, Michonnet is sent to England to learn English.
- Foreign Queasine: English cuisine is very disgusting for both Mr. Bosquier and Michonnet.
- Gratuitous English: Zig-zagged with My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels. While it's usual for De Funès's characters to butcher the English language, Bosquier surprisingly speaks decently well at least compared to Mac Farrell's French.
- Happily Ever After: The story ends with the wedding of Philippe Bosquier and Shirley Mac Farrell.
- Head-Turning Beauty: Shirley. When she arrives at the school and her car breaks down, all the pupils and their teacher are very prompt to help her. Gérard does not resist to her charms either. Mr. Bosquier notes that she makes his son dumb. Philippe and his friends also immediately notice how attractive she is and Philippe finally falls in love with her. The only male character who resists to her charms is Mr. Bosquier.
- Hypocritical Humor: Charles chews out his son Phillipe for his appealing English note on the final exams (1 out of 20), but he is shown struggling just as hard as him. (Still, this is a massive improvement compared to De Funès's other characters.)
- Minion Maracas: When Stéphane Michonnet reads the message to Mr. Bosquier saying Gérard and Shirley eloped, Bosquier grabs Michonnet by the lapels and shakes him, taking out his rage on the messenger.
- My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: Mr Mac Farrell tries to say in French that Mr. Bosquier's son is sick, but his broken French makes Mr. Bosquier understand that his son did something very bad.
- Not-So-Safe Harbor: In the port, Philippe and his friends have a drink in a bar. A Belgian sailor tries to force a girl to dance with him. He is thrown out of the bar, but he comes back with several other Belgian sailors and a Bar Brawl starts.
- Parental Favoritism: Mr. Bosquier's younger son Gérard is studious and always denounces his less-than-studious classmates, thus earning his father's respect and approval. Mr. Bosquier's eldest son Phillipe is however sent to England after a disastrous note in English (1 out of 20) and thus starting the plot.Charles Bosquier: [when his younger son Gérard comes in] Aaah, at least I have this one... A brilliant subject, disciplined, affectionate... And in première at 16!
- The Perfectionist: Mr. Bosquier's Establishing Character Moment has him complaining about having "only" 80% of success at the final exams and thus meaning they have 20% of failure.A mother of one of his students: Such a higher score of success, it's a record mister Director.
Charles Bosquier: No madam, it's a tradition. - Porn Stash: Mr. Bosquier discovers that his good and obedient son, Gérard, hides porn magazines in his herbarium.
- Soft Glass: Philippe breaks through a glass window after the Bar Brawl and comes out unharmed.
- Teacher's Pet: Gérard denounces his classmates (including his brother) when they disobey the rules. He is also very studious. His main hobby is his herbarium. Subverted, because he is a hypocrite (he has a ball with Shirley; he hides porn and music magazines in his herbarium).
