A little something extra, signed Artus, exceeds one million entries in less than a week

The comedy A Little Something Plus becomes one of the successes of the year: shot with around ten actors with mental disabilities, the film has already reached a million admissions in less than a week and will be seen its distribution expanded Wednesday in cinemas. A popular figure in comedy and television, Artus made a splash at the box office with his first film as a director.

On the day of its release, May 1, the film even had the best start of the year, beating blockbusters like Dune, Part II, released in February in twice as many theaters, or Kung-Fu Panda 4. Broadcast in 455 cinemas, with many full rooms in the provinces, “its release will be extended in the second week to respond to the enthusiasm,” the distributor told AFP.

The recipe for this box? A very accessible and tender comedy, which aims to laugh “with” disabled people, and not at their expense. Because here, the two “able-bodied”, played by Clovis Cornillac and Artus, are at their expense. Father and son on screen, they play two small-time thugs who decide to rob a jewelry store. Lacking potty, the dad parked the car in a disabled place, in front of a home, and it was taken away. To escape the police, they only have one chance left: to get on the bus which is taking a group of young people with mental disabilities to a summer camp, supervised by their educator (Alice Belaïdi). Artus will pose as a boarder, Clovis Cornillac as his specialized educator.

Above all, the film draws its “little extra something” from the ten or so amateur actors with disabilities, who respond to the professional actors, playing the young people in the group. The team spirit works, each actor playing his part - the romantic, the Dalida fan, the footballer, the shameless... When mental disability is often caricatured on screen, A little something extra takes the side of working with disabled people themselves.

The film was a gamble for Artus, 36 years old, real name Victor-Artus Solaro, known until now as a figure of humor, already playing disabled people in sketches, and on the small screen. He made his acting debut as Agent Jonas Maury in The Legends Bureau and has since taken on roles in comedies. He recounted his difficulty in finding producers, who were wary of the idea of ​​filming a comedy about disability and even more so with actors who themselves had a disability.

The success of the film proves Artus right. And recalls that of Huitième jour, a drama with Daniel Auteuil and the actor with Down syndrome Pascal Duquenne, which earned them both a share in the prize for best actor at Cannes in 1996. Or, in a completely different genre, the success of Rencontres du Papotin, on France 2, where people suffering from autism spectrum disorder question personalities, up to the President of the Republic.

“The success of the film is good, it shows that people can live together,” rejoices to AFP Sonia Ahehehinnou, vice-president of Unapei, the main association defending people with disabilities and their loved ones. . She also underlines the importance of casting, where people with disabilities are actors in their own right, “who show their ability in the profession”. “I hope the effect will not be limited to the success of the film,” she adds. And that in cinemas, the seats reserved for the disabled are not always the most poorly placed.