• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

The French Compass

Your Roadmap to Fluency

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Movies
  • Resources
    • Free Resources
    • French Music
    • French TV
    • French Activities
  • Shop
    • Audiobooks
    • Conversation Cards
    • Workbooks
  • Contact

Best French Comedies – Part 1

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of my links, I may get a small commission at no additional cost to you.

1. Les Intouchables (2011)

English Title: The Intouchables
Genre: Biographical Dramedy
IMDb: 8.5 / 10

Probably one of the most famous French movies, Les Intouchables is the award-winning movie based on the true story of a wealthy paraplegic who hires a black personal care-giver from the banlieue. Two worlds collide and yet, each of these men become the richer for it. A must-see.

Watch Now on Amazon

2. Bienvenue Chez les Ch’tis (2008)

English Title: Welcome to the Sticks
Genre: Comedy
IMDb: 7.1 / 10

Philippe Abrams, the manager of a French post office branch in the South of France, applies for a transfer to a post office closer to the Mediterranean coast for the sake of his depressive wife. However, after being found out for faking disability in order to get the coveted transfer, he “punished” by being transferred to a post office in the North of France, famous for its cold, bad weather and its inhabitants who speak Ch’ti, a local French dialect.

Watch Now on Amazon

3. Qu’est-ce Qu’On A Fait au Bon Dieu? (2014)

English Title: Serial (Bad) Weddings
Genre: Comedy
IMDb: 7.0 / 10

This movie isn’t so much about the weddings themselves as about the numerous culture shocks and conflicts a bourgeois couple and family have to face as each of their daughter marries a man of different cultural and ethnic background, filled with stigmas: a Jew, an Arab and a Chinese. Dinner table conversations are always ripe for provocations. The couple’s last hope is that their youngest daughter will marry a “proper French Catholic” and thus keep with the marital tradition and roots of the family.

Watch Now on Canal+

4. Le Retour du Héros (2018)

English Title: Return of the Hero
Genre: History, Comedy
IMDb: 6.5 / 10

This is a crazy movie. I seriously debated whether I should include it in the Best Romantic French movies, Most Ridiculous French Movies or Best French Comedies. Because it’s a little of everything: absurd, comical, cringe-worthy and a little romantic. Watch it and decide for yourself!

The story is about a cowardly soldier, Captain Neuville, who is drafted for war the day of his engagement to Pauline Beaugrand, the daughter of a well-off family. Upon leaving, he promises to write to her every day but, of course, he never does. Seeing her sister’s health and will to live decline as a result, Elisabeth takes matters in her own hands and starts writing and sending letters to her sister in the name of Captain Neuville, relating all his fabulous adventures and heroism on the battlefield. Until she one day decides to “kill” him in order to stop having to continue writing the letters.

That was without counting with the return of the “hero”.

Watch Now on Amazon

5. Rien à Déclarer (2008)

English Title: Nothing to Declare
Genre: Comedy
IMDb: 6.4 / 10

Ruben Vandevoorde, a Belgian customs officer, is notoriously known for hating the French, just as his father and grandfather before him. His worst nightmare comes true when he is forced to join a Franco-Belgian mobile squad, after the European borders open. He is teamed up with Mathias Ducatel, a French “colleague” from the other side of the border, who is secretly dating Ruben’s sister and who is terrified of asking her father or her brother for her hand in marriage.

Trigger Warning: Police violence.

Watch Now on Amazon

6. Il A Déjà Tes Yeux (2016)

English Title: He Even Has Your Eyes
Genre: Comedy
IMDb: 6.2 / 10

The tradition is to give white adoptive parents a Black or Asian baby. Well, this time around, the roles are reversed when a Black couple is offered to adopt a White French baby. An unusual scenario that promises to raise more than one eyebrow in their environment.

Watch Now on Canal+

7. Adopte un Veuf (2016)

English Title: Roommates Wanted
Genre: Dramedy
IMDb: 6.2 / 10

After the death of his wife, widower Hubert Jacquin is letting himself go, refusing to go out much, eat properly or clean his apartment. He is encouraged by his local baker to ring up a maid to come clean for him weekly. However, due to a mistake, a young student, who was just thrown out of her apartment, soon stands in front of his door expecting to move in and become Hubert’s new roommate.

Watch Now on Canal+

You Might Also Like

  • 35 – Qu’Est-Ce Qu’il Y A Dans Ton Caddie?35 – Qu’Est-Ce Qu’il Y A Dans Ton Caddie?
  • 5 – Si tu n’avais pas besoin de sommeil, qu’est-ce que tu ferais?5 – Si tu n’avais pas besoin de sommeil, qu’est-ce que tu ferais?
  • 20 Websites Where You Can Find French Movies to Watch20 Websites Where You Can Find French Movies to Watch
  • How to Learn a Language Like a ChildHow to Learn a Language Like a Child

Filed Under: French Movies Lisiane

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. December’21 – Learning to Rest and Lots of Movies – Bewritable says:
    April 22, 2023 at 8:26 pm

    […] charming, and the whole situation ridiculous. I also found a list of must-watch French comedies (part 1 and part […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Are You Ready to Binge-Listen Your Way to Fluency?

Start Listening

Footer

Get in touch!

  • Contact
  • Ask Me Anything
  • Give Feedback
  • Request a Podcast Episode
  • Request an Audiobook
  • Request a Workshop

Free Resources

  • Free Audiobook Chapter
  • Speaking French Email Series
  • Listening to French Email Series
  • Guide to French for Movies & TV Series
  • Language Learning Tips
  • Exercises On YouTube

Shop

  • Shop
  • My account
  • Cart
  • Checkout
  • Refund Policy
  • Contact

Legal Pages

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Disclosure
  • Disclaimer
  • Refund Policy
  • Contact

Newsletter

Exclusive Content. Only for Subscribers.

Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 The French Compass

Insert/edit link

Enter the destination URL

Or link to existing content

    No search term specified. Showing recent items. Search or use up and down arrow keys to select an item.