When I read Penny Pincher! was about a man whose obsessive frugality gets him into difficult situations, I was instantly drawn to this film. I am a huge fan of the series Extreme Cheapskates which lasted three seasons before devastatingly being cancelled in 2014. I am very familiar with how amusing and weirdly inspiring it is to see how people live on practically nothing, often while having a fair amount in the bank.
However, penny pincher François Gautier (Dany Boon) is a tragic figure and his money-saving tactics cause him great suffering, such as food poisoning from eating expired prawns and free samples from 2006. These antics do make for some entertaining viewing.
When his long-lost daughter Laura (Noémie Schmidt) moves in, (paying more than 100 euros in rent) she commits all sorts of unspeakable household crimes such as turning on lights, using hot water and touching the stair rail. Quickly, François decks out the entire house in pink sticky notes with instructions. She puts up with it, as she believes he is actually incredibly generous and lives on nothing in order to save Mexican orphans. From a small town called Mexico. In Mexico.
The highlight of the film for me was the banker (Patrick Ridremont), who can’t say no to François repeatedly inviting himself over to dinner. He probably only has about two minutes of screen time, but he may be more likeable than all the other characters put together. As François’ only friend, as you’d imagine, he’s very forgiving and accommodating (or as François puts it, ‘naive’). And he is very funny.
I was irritated rather than captivated by François’ girlfriend (Laurence Arné). The script can’t seem to decide if she is timid and anxious or a flaming badass (she tells a fellow musician exactly where to shove her double bass after she questions the Mexican orphans thing), and this makes for a typically uninteresting romantic subplot. But luckily there’s much more of a focus on the father/daughter dynamic, which while it is definitely a walk on the overly sentimental side, is quite sweet. Mostly Laura. I liked her. She’s nice.
There aren’t exactly surprises around every corner, and François lacks the kind of cleverness and integrity that makes Extreme Cheapskates irresistible viewing, but Penny Pincher! is a lighthearted and enjoyable film. Recommended if you like a heavy dose of sentimentality with your comedy.
Penny Pincher! is screening at the 2017 Alliance Francaise French Film Festival around Australia
Penny Pincher! review by Carmella.
