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Almost Legal
Original theatrical poster
FrenchPresque Légal
Directed byMax Mauroux
Written byMax Mauroux
Produced bySidonie Dumas [fr]
StarringMarley Duboscq
Joseph Pierre
Léo Castell
Marie-Anne Chazel
Sawsan Abès
François Levantal
Olivier Marchal
Joaquim Fossi
Jérôme Niel
Jean-Claude Muaka
Manel Benyoucef
CinematographyThomas Brémond
Edited byBasile Belkhiri
Music byMilan Kanche-Daudin [fr]
Production
company
Distributed byGaumont
Release dates
  • 18 January 2024 (2024-01-18) (L'Alpe d'Huez Film Festival)
  • 17 July 2024 (2024-07-17) (France and Belgium)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Budget€5,840,000[1]
Box office€258,000

Almost Legal (French: Presque Légal) is a French teen comedy film written and directed by Max Mauroux in his feature directorial debut. The film, which features young actors with a few prior credits in the lead roles and big names such as Marie-Anne Chazel, François Levantal, Olivier Marchal and Jérôme Niel in supporting roles, concerns a couple of slackers in the Arcachon Bay who decide to break in to a small grocery store at night and operate it as a night-time business, selling alcohol to vacationers during the summer. It was released theatrically in France and Belgium on 17 July 2024 after premiering at the L'Alpe d'Huez Film Festival earlier in the year. It was poorly received by critics and has grossed about €258,000 thus far.

Cast

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Production

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The film went through the working title Les Nouveaux Patrons (literally The New Bosses). Filming began on 15 May 2023 and lasted 33 days until June,[2] mainly in Arcachon, where first time writer/director Max Mauroux is from,[3] and surrounding areas such as Bordeaux and La Teste-de-Buch.[4] The film is an adaptation of Mauroux's short film Danemark[5] and went through test screenings during the editing process.[6]

Release

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The film had its world premiere on 18 January 2024 in competition at the L'Alpe d'Huez Film Festival.[7] It then received a special screening at the Festival du Film de Demain in Vierzon on the 1st of June[8] followed by premieres in Villenave-d'Ornon and La Teste-de-Buch, both on the 3rd of July[4][9] before receiving a wide theatrical release in France by Gaumont on 282 screens[1] and Belgium by Athena Films on 17 July 2024. It was rated for all audiences in France and for over 12 year olds in Belgium due to alcohol and/or drug use in the film.[10] International sales are handled by Gaumont.

Marketing

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The film's trailer was released on 30 May 2024.[11]

Home media

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The film is set to be released on DVD in France by Gaumont on 20 November 2024.[12]

Reception

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Box office

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As of 7 August 2024, Almost Legal sold 35,570 movie tickets in France,[13] grossing around €258,000.[a]

In its first week, the film debuted at number 14 at the box office, selling 25,683 tickets with an average of 3 spectators per showing, well below fellow new releases Twisters (debuting at number 4), King of My Castle [fr] (6) and Santosh (10), but above The Trouble with Jessica at number 15.[15] In its second week, Almost Legal sold 7,953 tickets, a 69% drop compared to the previous week, and was out of the Top 20 weekly box office. It plummeted an additional 76% in its third week, with 1,934 tickets sold.

Critical response

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The film was poorly received by critics, with an average 2 out of 5 stars reception aggregated on AlloCiné based on 3 reviews.[16]

Clément Canaux wrote a positive review for Ma Chaîne Étudiante [fr], noting the chemistry between the cast, the breezy humor, the endearing characters, the film's pacing and its beautiful scenery, highlighting the performances of Sawsan Abès and Jérôme Niel in particular.[17]

In an average review for Sud Ouest, Stéphane C. Jonathan praised Milan Kanche-Daudin [fr]'s original score and compared the film favorably to the American comedies Superbad and Clerks.[18]

Meanwhile Yohan Haddad in Télérama branded the film a "total fiasco" with "not much to save".[19]

Europe 1's Solène Delinger chose not to write a review for the film, the journalist instead putting out a glowing review of Sawsan Abès' performance in it, calling her the "revelation of 2024".[20]

Accolades

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List of awards and nominations for Almost Legal
Award or film festival Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
L'Alpe d'Huez Film Festival 20 January 2024 [fr] Grand Prix Max Mauroux Nominated [7]

Notes

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  1. ^ Based on the national average €7.24 ticket price[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Presque légal (Les Nouveaux patrons)". Scriptoclap (in French).
  2. ^ Madères, Corentin (4 July 2024). "« Arcachon, ce n'est pas que Camping et Les Petits mouchoirs  » : rencontre avec Max Mauroux, réalisateur de la nouvelle comédie « Presque légal »" [“Arcachon is not just ‘Camping’ and ‘Little White Lies’”: meeting with Max Mauroux, director of the new comedy “Almost Legal”]. Sud Ouest (in French).
  3. ^ Hiscock, Stéphane (16 July 2024). "Cinéma : sortie ce mercredi de "Presque Légal" de l'Arcachonnais Max Mauroux" [Cinema: release this Wednesday of "Almost Legal" by Arcachon's Max Mauroux]. France Bleu (in French).
  4. ^ a b C., Jérôme (16 July 2024). "Tournée sur le Bassin d'Arcachon, cette comédie sort ce mercredi au cinéma" [Filmed on the Arcachon Bay, this comedy releases in cinemas this Wednesday]. Aquitaine Radio Live (in French).
  5. ^ Coudy, Camille (17 July 2024). "« Presque légal » la comédie de l'été tournée sur le Bassin d'Arcachon" [“Almost Legal” the comedy of the summer filmed on the Arcachon Bay]. La Télévision du Bassin d'Arcachon (in French).
  6. ^ Lachasse, Jérôme (17 February 2024). ""Si personne ne rit, on coupe": comment les projections test façonnent les comédies françaises" [“If no one laughs, we cut”: how test screenings shape French comedies]. BFM TV (in French).
  7. ^ a b "Programme". L'Alpe d'Huez Film Festival.
  8. ^ "Programme" (PDF). Festival du Film de Demain.
  9. ^ CGR Villenave d'Ornon (16 July 2024). "C'est demain" [It's tomorrow]. Instagram (in French).
  10. ^ "Presque Legal". Cinenews.be (in French).
  11. ^ Gaumont (30 May 2024). "PRESQUE LÉGAL - Bande-annonce [Le 17 juillet au cinéma]" [ALMOST LEGAL - Trailer [In theaters July 17]]. YouTube (in French).
  12. ^ "Presque légal (2024) - DVD" [Almost Legal (2024) - DVD]. DVDFr (in French).
  13. ^ "Box Office France". AlloCiné.
  14. ^ "Prix des places" [Ticket prices]. Fédération nationale des cinémas français (in French).
  15. ^ Weichert, David (24 July 2024). "Box-office hebdo : Monte-Cristo règle ses comptes avec Moi, Moche et méchant 4 et Vice-Versa 2" [Weekly box office: Monte Cristo settles his scores with Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2]. Boxoffice Pro (in French).
  16. ^ "Critiques Presse". AlloCiné (in French).
  17. ^ Canaux, Clément (17 July 2024). "Presque Légal: que vaut la comédie rafraîchissante de l'été 2024 ?" [Almost Legal: What is the refreshing comedy of summer 2024 worth?]. Ma Chaîne Étudiante (in French).
  18. ^ Jonathan, Stéphane C. (12 July 2024). "On a vu « Presque légal » : une équipe de jeunes branleurs ouvre à Arcachon une épicerie de nuit clandestine" [We saw "Almost Legal": a team of young wankers opens a clandestine night grocery store in Arcachon]. Sud Ouest (in French).
  19. ^ Haddad, Yohan (18 July 2024). ""Presque légal", fiasco total" [“Almost legal”, total fiasco]. Télérama (in French).
  20. ^ Delinger, Solène (22 July 2024). "«Presque légal» : Sawsan Abes tire son épingle du jeu dans cette comédie de l'été tournée à Arcachon" [“Almost Legal”: Sawsan Abes stands out in this summer comedy filmed in Arcachon]. Europe 1 (in French).
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