A celebration of all things man, Chevalier’s escalating Olympics of masculine one-upmanship is something to which a lot of dudes will very much relate.
Confined to a yacht in the Aegean Sea, a group of friends, young, and older, growing weary of their tired trials and challenges to pass the time, agree to compete on anything and everything. Wagering their pride and dignity on competitions set by the others, sometimes without the knowledge of those involved, the contestants’ strangest whims and more obscure traits come to the fore to meet the new challenge.
More than a dick-measuring contest, which is incidentally one part of the exploits, Chevalier is a frat-style comedy about people who are almost anything but frat-boys, boasting quirks of the best college laugh-a-thons as well as the more considered elements of what is too here a very mature, human comedy.
Containing one sequence not dissimilar to The Hangover, while not all the participants are in their 40s or 50s its refreshing to see some heavily-familiar comedy stylings told in a very non-traditional way as the friends, some more confident than others, are pitted against each other in affectionate if vociferous contests.
Vangelis Mourikis and Makis Papadimitriou are the stand-outs of a talented cast, both uniquely outlandish in their portrayals and together stealing whole hefts of screen time. Papadimitriou, more evidently throwing himself at the mercy of his companions and the audience, has the most memorable scene of the film as he attempts to do justice to a classic song, enlivening proceedings with earnest, colourful attempts to catch up in the tally.
Relatable to many in no small measure, a bunch of ageing bros, a law unto only themselves, seizing the opportunity to act out, and act out they do, results in a heart-warming, oft-hilarious slice of cinema worth savouring.
Chevalier screened as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival, for tickets head to the Festival website
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