More than ten years after “Go Fast”, the Belgian filmmaker Olivier Van Hoofstadt is back in the cinema in 2020 with “Lucky”, a comedy carried by Michaël Youn, Alban Ivanov or even Florence Foresti. The latter also hesitated to play in the film, which marks her reunion with the director of “Dikkenek”.
What’s this Lucky ?
Released in 2020, Lucky is the third film by Olivier Van Hoofstadt. After his amazing Dikkenek in 2006 and the muscular Go Fast in 2007, the director did not sign a feature film for more than ten years to focus on music videos, advertising, short films and his personal projects.
Worn by Michaël Youn, Alban Ivanov, Florence Foresti, François Berléand or even Corinne Masiero in a totally misguided role, Lucky tells how Willy and Tony, in debt since birth, have a false good idea: steal a dog from the narcotics squad to find drugs and resell them behind. The goal of Lucky was really to tell the fate of two finished idiots but also quite touching, as explained by Olivier Van Hoofstadt in the press kit :
I wanted to make a film with somewhat stupid but touching people. Two friends who go a bit straight into the wall in social life and success and who suddenly have a genius idea: steal a dog from the drug squad. The only thing they forget is that they have no money, no credit card, no driver’s license… It’s obviously doomed to failure!
Florence Foresti hesitated to shoot in the film
Since Dikkenek, Florence Foresti and Olivier Van Hoofstadt have remained friends. In Olivier Van Hoofstadt’s first film, the French comedian already played a policewoman. Unforgettable in the role of Commissioner Laurence, Florence Foresti begins to tire of this type of role when Olivier Van Hoofstadt offers her to play in Lucky. The latter explains:
We get along well, I love what she does, I think she has really grown over the past ten years, she plays really well. She was obvious for the character of Caro. When I offered her the role, she told me she didn’t want to play another cop. In Dikkenek she played a lesbian and racist police officer. But she read the script and she told me banco.
She finally accepts Olivier Van Hoofstadt’s proposal. Especially for the action scenes and the stunts according to the filmmaker:
She was fantastic on set. She has hardly been dubbed, even for the scenes where she takes risks in the car. Her father is a fan of cars I think she wanted to pay tribute to him. She was the best to do that. In the scenes of violence, headbutting or car door it is so true! You’d think she’s been doing this all her life!
“Impossible to resist Caro”
If Florence Foresti was therefore hesitant, she was convinced after reading the script. Indeed, the actress affirms that the funny and quirky writing of Olivier Van Hoofstadt pushed her to agree to shoot in Lucky :
I always separate the emotional and the professional, if I don’t like a project, I don’t commit. Even though he’s my friend, so I didn’t say yes to him before reading the script… But it’s impossible to resist Caro, this character who is so unfiltered, so enjoyable to do! For a long time, I was only offered cop or lesbian roles. I started by telling myself that I had perhaps taken the wrong career to end up admitting that I don’t have a physique to play Manon des sources! And Olivier’s scenarios are so atypical, each time it’s a different color. He really has a tone, a look to him.
