The Intouchables (2011)

Critics gave it a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 57 on Metacritic. More than a million IMDb users gave it an 8.5. That gap is the whole movie. The Intouchables is a crowd-pleaser built on a very old shape: a rich, sad white guy gets his spark back thanks to a poor Black guy whose main job is to loosen him up. Driss gets plenty of jokes and not much inner life, and his family story gets tied up fast. But Omar Sy is a force. He’s so loose, so funny and so warm that the formula mostly melts away while you’re watching. François Cluzet plays Philippe almost entirely with his face and voice, and their friendship feels real. The birthday party where Driss heckles a classical concert and then shows the room how to dance is pure joy. It made $426.6 million worldwide on a reported $10.8 million budget. A 7.1 because the chemistry is real even when the story isn’t fresh. $4,656 says you try to dance like Omar Sy tonight and pull something.

What works: Omar Sy’s huge, loose charm and his easy chemistry with François Cluzet carry every scene.

What doesn’t: It leans on the tired setup of a poor Black man existing to liven up a rich white man, and Driss gets little life of his own.

Who it’s for: Anyone who wants a warm, funny buddy movie and doesn’t mind reading subtitles.