After her first film, Banlieusards, filmmaker Leïla Sy returns with Yo Mama (co-directed with Amadou Mariko), a comedy due in cinemas on July 5.
The cast includes Claudia Tagbo, Zaho and Sophie-Marie Larrouy, as three mothers who take up rap to finally get their 11-year-old sons to listen to them. Jean-Pascal Zadi plays the music producer who spots the three women. The trailer for this funny suburban comedy has just been released.
Our verdict
Distraught by their 11-year-old sons' rap video, three mothers decide to take their turn in rap with an explosive clip, with the aim of re-establishing communication within their household. The two filmmakers behind Yo Mama aim to draw attention to the difficulties of educating children in housing estates, and keeping them away from bad influences. A project that has everything to please and move, but this is obviously not the film's central aim.
Against all odds, the three best friends achieve resounding success, but are soon overwhelmed by their sudden notoriety and by a world they don't understand... It's also an opportunity to put the world of rap under the microscope, a subplot that's much less well mastered because it's full of clichés and clumsy writing. The word that immediately springs to mind is "caricature". Whether it's Jean-Pascal Zadi's character, orOlivia Kuy's, who introduces the three moms to rap, we don't really believe it. Especially since, according to the film, it's extremely easy to produce quality and break through, even when you don't know anything about it.
It's only when the film's real issue - the dialogue between mother and son - is revived that the viewer's interest returns, before a rushed ending. In fact, Yo Mama doesn't necessarily strike the right balance between its various plots, which makes the film sometimes wobbly, with overly simplistic themes.
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