Wacky comedy duo from the 90s, Les Bodin’s are making their comeback in 2021 with the film “Les Bodin’s in Thailand”. A feature film whose shooting was not easy.
The Bodin’s : a duo that marked its time
In 1989, actor Vincent Dubois created a totally cheeky character named Maria Bodin. The comedian dresses up as an embittered old lady and begins his shows throughout France. However, it will really change dimension in 1993 after meeting the comedian John Christian Fraiscinet. Together, they will then create the duo Les Bodin’s in which Vincent continues to play Maria and John Christian plays Christian, his unmarried son. For years, their shows will be constantly filled and highly appreciated. The two comedians will quickly rise in the category of Unknown, Knights of the Fiel, Knight and Laspales or Eric and Ramzy.
At the end of the 2000s, the success of Bodin’s train them by the feature films box. This is how two films were born: Wedding at the Bodin’s (2008) and Amélie in the land of Bodin’s (2010)both directed by Eric Le Roch. In 2021, the duo arrives at the cinema with The Bodin’s in Thailand. In a post-Covid-19 context, the film is a hit surprise in theaters with 1.6 million admissions.
The comedy therefore follows Maria and her big simpleton son Christian who find themselves embarked on an unusual adventure. Christian has lost his taste for life and is in depression. To get him a change of scenery, Maria decides to break the bank and takes him to Thailand. However, for the two peasants, the stay promises to be incredible.
A difficult shoot
While their shows and their films most often saw them in an agricultural setting, this feature film takes them this time to an exotic country at the antipodes of their culture. If the budget of The Bodin’s in Thailand is more substantial than that of the two previous feature films, filming was not without complications. It was thus necessary to do with the climatic conditions since the heat and the humidity constituted a real difficulty for the make-up of Vincent Dubois in Maria Bodin. Moreover, at the microphone of BFM TV, John Christian Fraiscinet does not hide that the Covid-19 crisis had consequences on the shooting:
We were supposed to shoot on location in March 2020, but after ten days we were repatriated because of the pandemic. We didn’t know when we could go back, or if we were going to be able to continue filming. There were a lot of negotiations between the production and the authorities. Because we had started filming, we were able to continue it six months later, in October and November. We took the opportunity to rework the script.
A blessing in disguise, in the end. Especially since during their stay in Thailand, the locals, a bit disturbed At first glance, were very welcoming to themas Vincent Dubois points out:
They attached themselves to Maria as to their elders, even though they knew she was played by a man. They came to help me like an old lady.
