Biyograficim
The Powder Puff Gang

The Powder Puff Gang (Trop jolies pour être honnêtes)

Movie · 1972 · 3 people

Richard Balducci directed the 1972 comedy Trop jolies pour être honnêtes ("Too Pretty to Be Honest"), a French-Italian-Spanish co-production shot in French. It also goes by 4 Souris pour un hold-up, literally "Four Mice for a Holdup", and carries the English title The Powder Puff Gang. The premise: four women notice that thieves who have pulled off a robbery are keeping the stolen goods in the building opposite their own, and they decide to steal the haul from the men.

The action unfolds on the French Riviera. The four flatmates at the heart of the comedy are Bernadette (Bernadette Lafont), Christine (Jane Birkin), Frédérique (Élisabeth Wiener) and Martine (Emma Cohen). The rest of the cast includes Dominique Zardi, Henri Attal, Alfredo Mayo and Daniel Ceccaldi, along with Carlo Giuffré, Fernand Sardou, Henri Virlogeux and Hubert Deschamps.

Balducci wrote the screenplay together with Augusto Caminito and Guy Grosso. In 1985 International Home Video Corp. brought the film out in the United States with English subtitles as part of its La Vidéo Française series; that English-language VHS release gave it the subtitle "Four Chicks for a Holdup".

DirectorRichard Balducci

Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Cast

Only cast members with a profile on this site are listed.

Bernadette Lafont Bernadette Lafont Actor · died at 74 Dominique Zardi Actor · died at 79 Henri Attal Henri Attal Actor · died at 67

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

This light comedy from the early seventies, set on the French Riviera, brings back the colourful, carefree mood of those years. Four women sharing a flat who set out to rob the thieves stashing their loot in the building opposite recall the sweet little games of cunning in old Yeşilçam comedies. Seeing Bernadette Lafont and Jane Birkin in the same film is a treat of its own. Don't expect a deep story; but for a Sunday afternoon it is an unpretentious entertainment to enjoy with a light heart.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Richard Balducci's film is a heist comedy turned inside out: four flatmates who rob the robbers. The idea is witty, and the French-Italian-Spanish co-production lends the Riviera a certain international gloss. But a premise like this only really works with tight plotting mechanics and flawless timing, and the script by Balducci, Augusto Caminito and Guy Grosso seems to lean far too heavily on the genre's familiar patterns. Names like Lafont and Birkin add appeal, yet the result rarely rises above being one more light commercial comedy of its day. Even the fact that it circulated under several different titles hints at how it was treated as a product to be packaged. A curiosity worth a look; not a rediscovery.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

Four friends trying to steal back what the thieves stole is an idea made for laughs. The story looks light and fun. Still, keep in mind that French comedies from the seventies can have jokes aimed at adults, so it's worth checking it first before putting it on for the kids. It's in French with subtitles, which younger children may struggle with. Better suited to teenagers and grown-ups.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

Reviews (0)

Log in Log in to write a review.

Comments