Search - Times Have Been Better on DVD

Loved This

RonAnnArbor | Ann Arbor, MI United States | 08/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't believe it took this long for the DVD to arrive in the US (Sept 07) since it feels like ages ago that I saw this movie in Paris -- then took friends to see it in Toronto -- and then dragged friends to see it in NYC.

This is a wonderful and fun little film about what happens when you think you are going to get one type of reaction from loved ones, but get the opposite reaction instead, with hilarious result.

The cast is uniformly terrific, and I am sure that this movie will eventually be remade in the US with a US-based english-speaking cast...but it will be hard to beat the talented and charming cast in this French film.

Loved it loved it loved it. Highly recommended."

"Liberal" Parents

Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 07/06/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Times Have Been Better"

"Liberal" Parents

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

Due out on September 25 from Picture This Entertainment is a wonderful French comedy about a 30 year old guy who breaks the news to his parents that he has a boyfriend...and he tells them during brunch.
We have had many movies about coming-out but "Times Have Been Better" in that it is unique because it deals with an adult doing so. The cast of the movie is made up of three very hot men--a 30 year old yuppie, his very handsome 40 year old boyfriend and his very cute and understanding teenaged brother.
Jeremy, the 30 year old, has always excelled at everything and has just been promoted to an executive position at the bank where he works. His parents regard him as a golden child. They do not know that he is gay--in fact, the only member of the family that knows is his younger brother, Robin. Comes that fateful morning when Jeremy stops at his parents' home for brunch that hr tells them that he is moving in with his boyfriend. Things heat up and Jeremy's folks who have always thought of themselves as liberals and progressive do not take the news well. Each of the parents accuses the other of knowing about their son and not telling. Now they want to find out what caused Jeremy to be gay. Rosine, Jeremy's mom, goes to a co-worker for advice and Guy, his dad, talks to his tennis buddies from whom he gets a few answers. Robin is elated as he is no longer the black sheep of the family. New drama arises from the entire situation and the parents take out their frustrations on the younger son. Will this family ever be the same after the "shocking" news?
The film is an absolute delight from start to finish and I think that what makes it so delightful is that it is a situation we can all recognize. It is not easy to tell the parents and one never knows what the reaction will be. Here it is exactly the opposite of what was expected.
The cast is superb--especially Charlotte de Turckheim as Rosine, the mother. Also outstanding is Bernard de Coq (I did not make that name up) as Guy, the father. The three men will capture your heart and your eyes and all in al this is simply a fun film.
"

A blast!!!

Derrick Jenkins | Hampton VA USA | 10/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"it was incredible watching this movie even with the language barrier..it didnt even matter. subtitles do help but for me i could just feel what the older brother was going through not by my own experience. But just by seeing how they were reacting to each other as they were filming and how the actors and actresses all worked together to bring across a movie that while funny and dramatic. Also has some scenes that get you pissed again i'm not one to go telling specific scenes in the movie. But i will say that the father of the older son first seems cool with his son telling him and mother that he's gay.

But as you progress further into the film he starts losing it, lashing out, slapping his younger son (also a delight to watch in this movie) for something about the lawn. it is interesting to see how folks really react and feel to a situation not what they are thinking and think that person wants to hear. It just came across so well and made a huge impression on me long after it was over. I cant help hope to see all the people in this movie again in something as good as Times Have Been Better. But its highly rated and recommended by me for rent and then a purchase afterwards. It will draw in folks no matter what their sexual preference is.

Loved it!!!!"

Goes way beyond typical "coming out" story

Bob Lind | Phoenix, AZ United States | 09/27/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the French made-for-TV film "Le Ciel sur la tête" ("Times Have Been Better") (2006), Jérémy is 30 year old son of liberal upper middle class parents Guy and Rosine, who comes home in order to tell his parents about his impressive promotion at his work in Paris ... and to finally tell them that he is gay. His younger brother, Robin, who has known about his brother's sexuality for years, warns him that they are going to be stunned by the news, but neither one of them could have anticipated just how it would affect the relationships between each one of the four family members.

I found this to be a refreshing change on the usual "coming out" tale, on several levels. Obviously, the son is no longer a child, but an adult who finished college and is a success in the business world, but whom has been procrastinating about telling his parents until he was in a relationship, which he is now. And, from that point, the gay son actually becomes more of a supporting character, as the film concentrates more on the resulting tension between the parents and also the younger son, who unfortunately decides around the same time to postpone college to take a temp job for a film studio. While the initial troubles between the parents seem to have been triggered by the revelation of the son's sexuality, it also soon becomes obvious that the problems are buried much deeper than that, and have existed through most of their marriage. The turmoil of the relationship also alienates good friends of both Guy and Rosine, and pushes Rosine to seek out advice and support from her gay co-worker, whom she doesn't particularly like. The film is a light but intelligent reminder about how important communication is in any relationship, and how being "open minded" is often tougher than it seems.

DVD has brief "making of" featurette (dubbed in English, although the film itself is in French with subtitles, and may need some pausing and replays, since the dialogue comes through pretty fast at times.) and photo gallery. I give it four stars out of five."