Would I Lie To You? Review

Eddie, Richard Anconina, is down on his luck and the future looks bleak. Stumbling into the garment district of Paris, he`s mistaken for a Jew by the influential Victor Benzakem, Richard Bohringer, and given a job. Victor, an orthodox, Sephardic Jew, is a fabric wholesaler who only employs fellow Jews. Going along with the subterfuge, Eddie soon proves he`s a born businessman, and before long, helped by several new friends who are rather unorthodox members of this orthodox community, he`s been promoted to salesman and sets his sights on his boss`s daughter Sandra....Director Thomas Gilou and writers Gerard Bitton and Michel Munz scored a tremendous hit last year in France with this good-natured and frequently hilarious send-up of Jewish orthodoxy. Characterisations are colourful and the ensemble cast is uniformly excellent. As the outsider in this enclosed world, Richard Anconina gives a funny, clever performance, and there`s a wonderful portrayal of sheer sleaziness from Alain Delon`s son, Anthony, who plays Eddie`s rival for the hand of the lovely Sandra. The pacing is fast and exuberant, and Gilou, while obviously entranced by these characters, doesn`t fall into the trap of political correctness as he makes fun of the more excessive elements of this hermetic enclave.