''Les Boys'' is a 1997
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
-made
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
film directed by
Louis Saia. It has spawned three sequels and by any measure (
profit,
box office or attendance) is the most successful Quebec made film series of all time, and one of the most successful
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
-made film series of all time.
Plot
The plot revolves around the players on a
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
team ("Les Boys") that play in a low level
amateur hockey league. They are made up of a wide variety of professions and personalities, including a
police officer
A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
, a barely competent
doctor
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
, a
mechanic
A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars.
Duties
Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning an ...
, an
unemployed
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...
hockey
trivia
Trivia is information and data that are considered to be of little value. It can be contrasted with general knowledge and common sense.
Latin Etymology
The ancient Romans used the word ''triviae'' to describe where one road split or forke ...
buff who has lost his confidence as a
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
, a shifty real estate salesman and a
closeted gay lawyer. The team is sponsored by a pub owner, whose son desperately wants to play hockey with the older men. The film starts at the time of the league championship, at which time the team is soundly thrashed in the final.
Meanwhile, the pub owner is losing at poker to the head of the local organized crime syndicate, to the tune of $50,000. Given the opportunity to pay him back, the owner can only raise $25,000. After threatening to break his leg, the crime boss proposes another wager - a game between Les Boys and his own team. If Les Boys win, the debt is settled, but if they lose, the crime boss gets the pub.
In the week leading up to the big game, a number of sub plots emerge. Chief among them is the fact that most of the partners of the hockey players are starved for affection and intimacy, including the effeminate partner of the gay lawyer. Their primary complaint is that their men are either consumed by work or hockey to the exclusion of their relationships. Meanwhile, the doctor is attempting to get the pub's attractive waitress to notice him, but she only has eyes for the team's best player, the hunky, but married, mechanic.
When game day arrives, the waitress has waylaid the mechanic on the pretext that her car needs work. The rest of the players show up (including the goalie, who has previously vowed retirement) to find themselves faced with a team of ringers, including players they recognize from various minor leagues. Bewildered by the competition and handicapped by the lack of their best player, they quickly fall behind until the pub owner finally discloses the wager, and the mechanic shows up when he learns from his teammates that his wife is looking for him at the rink. Naturally, they overcome all obstacles and triumph, the gay lawyer is outed by his reunion with his lover, and the waitress finally sees the doctor without his cheap
toupee and likes what she sees.
English translation of title
Translating "Les Boys" to English poses obvious difficulties as the word "Boys" is borrowed directly from
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. As with most examples of English words borrowed into
Quebec French, it is treated grammatically as a French noun, and given the proper plural, definite article. Literally, the title could be translated as "The 'Boys'", and this is the title used for English versions on
videotape
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasse ...
or
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
.
Film as part of Quebec culture
Surprisingly, this is one of very few Quebec made feature films to deal with ice hockey, a near obsession for many in Quebec since the beginning of the 20th century. Outsiders often underestimate the importance of hockey to
Canadian culture
The culture of Canada embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, humour, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Canadians. Throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced by European culture and traditi ...
, and particularly to
Quebec culture. A film about aging immature men pursuing their sport on a serious amateur level is not a new one (see ''
The Longest Yard'', ''
Mystery, Alaska
''Mystery, Alaska'' is a 1999 American sports comedy-drama film, directed by Jay Roach, about an amateur ice hockey team from the fictional small town of Mystery that plays an exhibition game against the National Hockey League (NHL)'s New York Ran ...
'', etc.), but it struck a responsive chord with Quebec audiences, many of whom obviously saw a piece of themselves in the characters.
Box office success
''Les Boys'' cost about $3,300,000 (CAD) to make, and took in domestic box office of over $6,000,000
CAD
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...
and another $4,000,000
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Given the size of the Québec market (the film saw limited release in English Canada), a $6 million box office is the approximate equivalent of over $250 million for a domestic U.S. release, assuming a population ratio of about 1:40. Its three sequels were also the best performing films at the Québec box office in the years they were released.
Reception
French audiences generally enjoy the film far more than English audiences. This is no doubt partially because most English versions of the film have a badly
dubbed dialogue, whereas the French dialogue is far more realistic.
Sequels
Due to the success of the movie at the Quebec box office, Louis Saïa directed two additional sequels, ''Les Boys II'' and ''Les Boys III''. The third sequel, ''Les Boys IV'', was directed by George Mihalka.
The second movie is about the team playing in a tournament in
Chamonix, France
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
. During the movie, the team's equipment is stolen in Chamonix. They manage to get their equipment back and to win the tournament in a shootout.
Daniel Russo
Daniel Russo (born 13 May 1948) is a French film actor, comedian and director.
Theater
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russo, Daniel
1948 births
Living people
Male actors from Marseille
French male film acto ...
join the cast of the movie.
The third one is more complex, as Stan's team members are demoted to a team managed by one of Stan's friends. During a matchup between the remaining Boys members and former Boys members, it is revealed that Stan's friend wants to use land around Stan's bar to build condos. The former Boys turn against their new team and Stan takes over his friend's bar. In this movie, the Boys play a game against the
Canada women's Olympic team consisting mainly of players from Quebec (
Kim St-Pierre
Kim St-Pierre (born December 14, 1978 in Châteauguay, Quebec) is a Canadian ice hockey player. She is a three-time Olympic gold medallist and five-time IIHF world champion. She was announced as a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee on June 24, 2020. ...
,
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a member ...
,
Danielle Goyette
Danielle Goyette (born January 30, 1966) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played on the Canada women's national ice hockey team. In 2013, she was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame. In 2017, she was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fa ...
,
Gina Kingsbury
Gina Kingsbury (born November 26, 1981) is a Canadian former women's professional ice hockey player. She graduated from St. Lawrence University with a degree in psychology, and ranks second all-time in scoring among St. Lawrence Skating Saints w ...
and others). The Boys are easily defeated by the girls.
The fourth movie is again a tournament in which the Boys' team ends up in a game against the French Legends Team (les ''Légendes du Hockey''). Some of the legends in the movie include
Guy Lafleur
Guy Damien Lafleur (September 20, 1951 – April 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six c ...
,
Mike Bossy,
Ray Bourque
Raymond Jean Bourque (born December 28, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He holds records for most career goals, assists, and points by a defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the James Norris Memoria ...
and
Martin Brodeur. Also during the movie, after a bad game, Stan takes his Boys into a wooded location and nearly gets them lost in the area.
Television series
A spin-off TV series titled ''Les Boys: La série'' debuted on October 1, 2007 on
Télévision de Radio-Canada. Most of the regulars have returned to reprise their original roles, including
Rémy Girard
Rémy Girard (born August 10, 1950) is a Canadian actor and former television host from Montreal, Quebec.
Acting career
Girard played the role of Rémy, the main character, who is dying of terminal cancer, in the Canadian film ''The Barbarian In ...
,
Marc Messier
Marc Messier, M.S.C. (born August 16, 1947) is a Canadian actor and filmmaker.
Background
Born in Granby, Quebec, Messier's 45-year acting career included the participation in several well-known films and television series.
After finishing his ...
, Paul Houde, Michel Charette, Yvan Ponton, Patrick Labbé and Pierre Lebeau.
A second season debuted in January 2009. Pierre Verville and Patrice Belanger joined ''Les Boys'' as new players. Paul Houde will not be back as the Boys goalie Fernand Rivest, as he is killed off in the season premiere.
The show ran a total of 5 seasons and ended its run in 2012.
References
External links
Official Radio-Canada websiteCanadian Film Encyclopedia publication of The Film Reference Library/a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boys, Les
1997 films
Quebec films
Canadian sports comedy films
Ici Radio-Canada Télé original programming
Television shows set in Montreal
2007 Canadian television series debuts
2012 Canadian television series endings
Films scored by Normand Corbeil
Films shot in Montreal
Films set in Montreal
Lionsgate films
2000s Canadian sitcoms
2010s Canadian sitcoms
Canadian ice hockey films
Ice hockey television series
French-language Canadian films
1990s Canadian films