Têtes à claques
I was talking with my distant cousin, Sylvain, recently and he pointed me in the direction of a site called Têtes à claques. According to my handy dictionary, that translates to “unpleasant faces,” which would pretty much sum up the look of the rather bizarre looking characters in these direct-to-web short comedic films. I kept forgetting to look up the site until this morning when I read an article online that announced that the folks at Juste Pour Rire had purchased the rights to these shorts and planned on selling them to various broadcasters all over the world. The creator of the shorts, Michel Beaudet, has maintained the rights for the internet, mobile phones and the Canadian and Quebecois television markets.I took a look at the site and, to be quite honest, I’m not sure what I think about it. Part of the humour must come from the look of the characters, which are pretty much plastic figurines with Beaudet’s mouth and eyes spliced overtop to do the dialogue and the reactions, but I’m not sure how this has blown up into such a phenomenon. The site was launched in August and now gets about 250,000 visitors per day. That’s the sort of traffic ol’ Al could only dream of!
The most popular clip is a spoof of infomercials, advertising a the fictitious Willi Waller potato peelers. Just to give you an additional idea of the influence of this site, vendors in Montreal and area reported an increase in the sale of potato peelers during the Christmas season. There were many a happy Quebecois who found potato peelers in their stockings. Le monde est fou!
Anyway, if you’re a fan of short webfilms, then I encourage you to check out this site. Maybe one of my faithful readers can explain the appeal. Keep in mind, all the videos are in French at this point. They’re working on English versions, though, so when this is unleashed on an unsuspecting anglo audience, just remember where you saw it first! Til next time…
Anyway, if you’re a fan of short webfilms, then I encourage you to check out this site. Maybe one of my faithful readers can explain the appeal. Keep in mind, all the videos are in French at this point. They’re working on English versions, though, so when this is unleashed on an unsuspecting anglo audience, just remember where you saw it first! Til next time…
***UPDATE: Jan 25, 2007*** Alright, I took another look at the site and a few more of the clips. It's funnier than I first gave it credit for. Not every one's a winner, but there are plenty that are good! When I first made this posting, I doubted that I'd bother checking it out again, but now I can say that I'm becoming a fan. Til next time...
Labels: comedy, Juste Pour Rire, Têtes à claques
posted by Al B Here @ 9:57 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I'll take the invite and try to explain the site's popularity. First of all, you must know that most of those videos aren't particularly exceptional, with the exception of maybe 3 or 4 (the Willi Waller being one). The thing is they are a never-ending source of good quotes. There's just under 40 videos right now and already, you can find a funny quote to use in almost every situation. Plus, even though it now has reached mainstream status, it still has that "underground" vibe going on, where people kind of feel "in" by throwing out some excerpts. That probably won't last long though.
I've got to admit, the quotes went right over my head. Maybe it's the same thing for me as Napoleon Dynamite. I didn't find the movie funny at all, but when I heard other people start using references and quotes, those became funny. I'll have to see them in action, I suppose.
Etre une tête à claque, c'est avoir un tête qui ne mérite que des claques (slaps). En gros, c'est être si insupportable que la seule chose qu'on ait envie de vous faire c'est de vous donner des claques!
Having a "tête à claques " is being such insufferable that the only thing you inspire people is slapping.
Merci ma chère. J'ai utilisé la définition de mon dictionnaire. :-)
Thanks for the link Al. These movies are hilarious and I never would've heard of them down here. I've sent the link on to my brother who I think will also get a huge kick out of them.
Martin
Hey Al,
It is definitely a cultural thing. You need to have grown up or lived among the quebecois to understand a lot of it. It has subtly to do with daily life.
The appeal has become iconic, which could account for its growing popularity.
c'est de l'asty de marde les têtes à claques
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