ASTÉRIX ET OBÉLIX CONTRE CÉSAR (1999) ** Classico characters, Roberto Benigni, Gérard Depardieu, big budget, English translation by Terry Jones...it's fun, but slightly disappointing (perhaps I'm the only person on the face of the earth who expected high art out of the project). Depardieu never really gets into the Obelix character even during the humorous fight scenes, some of his sad French faces are humorously appropriate. Ah, what am I bitching about, it's based on a cartoon!? And it makes fun of Romans, and they drink a lot, and there's Druid magic floating around, and the children laugh. Could have been accomplished on a fiftieth of the budget though; even Benigni seems forced, not quite on his natural game. Arielle Dombasle adds a French Hollywood quality around the edges of the village scenes. You can go ahead and pencil in Laetitia Casta for the lead in the French version of "The Dolly Parton Story" in 20 years or so.
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