A Flighty French Farce (Avec Flesh-Eating): 'Slack Bay'
Bruno Dumont's histrionic if not particularly hysterical comedy pits rich against poor in a picturesque seaside town; the film's leisurely paced slapstick is "more intriguing than involving."
Everything is a little off in the small French seaside town of Slack Bay — even gravity. Bruno Dumont's period farce is punctuated by frequent pratfalls, and some of his characters can barely stand upright. Yet toward the movie's end, several of them become lighter than air, and threaten to float away.
If they were to vanish, they'd be is nominally about a police investigation of missing vacationers. Ungainly detectives Machin and Malfoy (Didier Despres and Cyril Rigaux), intentionally reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy, wander the beaches in search of clues. Dunes are a particular problem for the rotund Machin, who tends to roll down them like a sideways bowling pin.
