''Seducing Doctor Lewis'' () is a

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

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 ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

and the first film directed by

Jean-François Pouliot Jean-François Pouliot (born 1957) is a Canadian film director from Quebec. He was born in Montreal and studied at Concordia University. He worked as an assistant cameraman, while also writing and directing short animated films for the Nationa ...

.Hornaday, Ann (July 30, 2004)
"Hook, Line and Hoodwinkers"
''Washington Post (washingtonpost.com)''. Retrieved 03-06-2005. The script was written by

Ken Scott Ken Scott (born 20 April 1947) is a British record producer and engineer known for being one of the five main engineers for the Beatles, as well as engineering Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Duran Duran, the Jef ...

. It won the Audience Award at 2004

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. Starring in the movie are

Raymond Bouchard Raymond Bouchard (born March 7, 1945 in Lauzon, Quebec, Lauzon, Quebec) is a Canadians, Canadian film, television and stage actor. He is most noted for his performances in the film ''Seducing Doctor Lewis (La Grande séduction)'', for which he rec ...

Benoît Brière Benoît Brière (born June 20, 1965) is a Canadian actor from Quebec.Patricia Belzil"Benoît Brière" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', October 23, 2008. He is most noted for his performance in the film '' Seducing Doctor Lewis (La Grande séduction)' ...

, David Boutin and

Lucie Laurier Lucie Laurier (born 19 March 1975) is a Canadian actress from Quebec. She is most noted for her performances in the films ''Anne Trister'', for which she received a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 8th Genie Awards in 19 ...

Plot

The small fishing village Ste-Marie-la-Mauderne on the north coast of Quebec is in decline. Every resident collects welfare. To lure a company into building a plastic container factory nearby, they need to double their population of 120, have a resident doctor, and give a $50,000 bribe for the company owner. Montreal plastic surgeon Dr. Christopher Lewis (David Boutin) gets pulled over for speeding by an officer, Réal Fournier (Jean-Pierre Gonthier), the former mayor of Ste-Marie-la-Mauderne who moved to the city because he, like most of the residents of Ste-Marie, couldn't get a job there. After finding cocaine on Dr. Lewis, Fournier agrees not arrest him for drug possession if Dr. Lewis will visit Ste-Marie-la-Mauderne for one month. In a deleted scene, Dr. Lewis sells cocaine to his patients. Germain Lesage (Raymond Bouchard), a welfare recipient himself and the new mayor, hatches a plan. The entire village will convince Dr. Lewis to stay. They tap his phone, and pretend to share his likes: cricket, fusion jazz, and all the same foods. Henri Giroux (Benoît Brière), the local banker whose sole job is to cash the townfolks' welfare cheques, leaves small amounts of money for Dr. Lewis to find as small measures to increase Dr. Lewis' happiness about being in town, and attempts to secure a loan through his bank for the bribe. Dr. Lewis likes the beautiful post office worker Ève Beauchemin (Lucie Laurier), but Ève knows he has a girlfriend, Brigitte, in Montreal. The ruse works, but they cannot secure a loan. Henri fronts the money from his personal savings, after a bank executive tells him that he has a job only as a favour to his father, and that his position could easily be replaced by an ATM. When the plastics company owner arrives, everyone continues their elaborate trick, and convinces him to build the factory there. The owner is ready to sign, but insists that they must have a doctor. When Dr. Lewis learns that Brigitte has been having an affair with his best friend Paul for three years, he proclaims that he will stay because everyone in the village is genuine. Germain feels bad for lying, and "lets him off the hook" by telling him another lie in that they have secured another person as a permanent doctor. Hurt, Dr. Lewis turns to Ève, who has disliked all the lying, and confesses all to him, including the phone tap. Dr. Lewis confronts Germain about the lies, with Germain confirming the accusations. When Dr. Lewis asks him if he will learn the game of cricket for real if he decides to stay, Germain replies "no". It is then that Dr. Lewis decides to stay. The factory is built, Ste-Marie-la-Mauderne is saved, everyone gains renewed pride, and Dr. Lewis has five years in which to woo Ève.

Production

Producer Roger Frappier wanted to film ''Seducing Doctor Lewis'' in Newfoundland but the film was eventually shot on an island with a population of about 300, Harrington Harbour,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The film's

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

felt the island looked too pretty to fill the role of a fishing village experiencing hard times, so they worsened its appearance in the movie.

Awards

*Winner - Sundance Film Festival: World Cinema Audience Award

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

– Cinematography;

Prix Jutra The Prix Iris is a Canadian film award, presented annually by Québec Cinéma, which recognizes talent and achievement in the mainly francophone feature film industry in Quebec.Pierre Collin Pierre Collin (July 18, 1938 – July 27, 2023) was a Canadian actor and stage director."Pierre C ...

), Supporting Actress (Desrochers), Editing, Cinematography, Art Director, Sound and Costumes.

Remakes

An English language remake titled ''

The Grand Seduction ''The Grand Seduction'' is a 2013 Canadian comedy film directed by Don McKellar and written by Ken Scott (screenwriter), Ken Scott and Michael Dowse. The film stars Taylor Kitsch, Brendan Gleeson, Liane Balaban and Gordon Pinsent. It is based on ...

'' was released in 2013, starring

Taylor Kitsch Taylor Kitsch (born April 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor and model who has portrayed Tim Riggins in the NBC television series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011). He has also worked in films such as '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' (2009), ''Battle ...

as Dr Lewis with

Brendan Gleeson Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two British Independent Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award and four times for ...

, Mary Walsh,

Cathy Jones Catherine Frederica "Cathy" Jones (born April 6, 1955) is a Canadian actress, comedian and writer. She is known for her work for 28 years on the Canadian television series '' This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. Jones left the show in 2021. CODCO Jones ...

, and

Gordon Pinsent Gordon Edward Pinsent (born July 12, 1930) is a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He is known for his roles in numerous productions, including ''Away from Her'', ''The Rowdyman'', ''John and the Missus'', ''A Gift to Last'', '' Due So ...

as town folks. The story's setting was moved to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. A French remake ''Un village presque parfait'' (

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 ...

: ''An almost perfect village'') produced by Stéphane Meunier, was released in 2015. The action takes place in a small imaginary Pyrenean village : Saint-Loin-la-Mauderne, which is twinned with Sainte-Marie-la-Mauderne from the original movie.

References

External links

* *{{Rotten Tomatoes, seducing_doctor_lewis_2004 2003 films Canadian comedy films Sundance Film Festival award winners Films directed by Jean-François Pouliot Films set in Quebec Films shot in Quebec French-language Canadian films 2000s Canadian films