''La Boum'' (English title: ''The Party'' or ''Ready for Love'') is a 1980 French

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Claude Pinoteau Claude Pinoteau (25 May 1925 – 5 October 2012) was a French film director and scriptwriter. Born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts de Seine, Île-de-France, France. He died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, aged 87. (in French) His sister was the actress ...

and starring Sophie Marceau, appearing in her film début. Written by

Danièle Thompson Danièle Thompson (born 3 January 1942) is a Monegasque film director and screenwriter. Thompson is the daughter of film director Gérard Oury, and actress Jacqueline Roman. She has written screenplays for a number of highly successful films i ...

and Pinoteau, the film is about a thirteen-year-old French girl finding her way at a new high school and coping with domestic problems. The film earned 4,378,500 admissions in France and was an international box-office hit. The music was written by

Vladimir Cosma Vladimir Cosma (born 13 April 1940) is a Romanian composer, conductor and violinist. He was born into a family of musicians. His father, Teodor Cosma, was a pianist and conductor, his mother a writer-composer, his uncle, Edgar Cosma, composer and ...

, with Richard Sanderson singing the song "

Reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

". A sequel, ''

La Boum 2 ''La Boum 2'' is a 1982 French teen romantic comedy film directed by Claude Pinoteau and starring Claude Brasseur, Brigitte Fossey, and Sophie Marceau. Written by Danièle Thompson and Claude Pinoteau, the film is about a girl who falls in love wit ...

'', was released in 1982.

Plot

François, a dentist, and his wife Françoise, an illustrator, move to Paris and place their daughter Vic, aged 13, in one of the capital's best schools. Making friends, her free time becomes a whirl of discos, cinemas, and parties. François is contacted by Vanessa, a former lover, who insists he spends another night with her and, when he tries to go home, rings Françoise to say he is in hospital. Seeing through this ruse, Françoise kicks François out, smashes up Vanessa's shop, and starts an affair with Éric, one of Vic's teachers. who is then punched in the street by François. Trying to make sense of her parents' behaviour, Vic is helped by her great-grandmother Poupette, who encourages her in her relationship with Matthieu, the boy of her dreams, that results in a night together in a beach cabin. When François goes to pick Vic up from school, Matthieu insults him, not knowing who he is, and gets punched in the street. Françoise discovers that she is pregnant and decides to reconcile with François. At her 14th birthday party, Vic is in the arms of Matthieu when she suddenly sees the boy of her dreams …..

Cast

* Sophie Marceau as Victoire "Vic" Beretton *

Brigitte Fossey Brigitte Florence Fossey (; born 15 June 1946) is a French actress. Early years The daughter of a schoolteacher, Fossey was five years old when she was cast by director René Clément to star in his film, '' Forbidden Games''.Claude Brasseur Claude Brasseur (15 June 1936 – 22 December 2020) was a French actor. Life and career Claude Brasseur was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine as Claude Pierre Espinasse, the son of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux. He was the godson of E ...

as François Beretton *

Denise Grey Denise Grey (born Édouardine Verthuy; 17 September 1896 – 13 January 1996) was an Italian-born actress who became a naturalized French citizen. Biography Édouardine Grey was born in Châtillon in the Aosta Valley of north-west Italy, clos ...

as Poupette *

Alexandre Sterling Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander * Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of: * Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name "Alexandre (disambiguation) Alexandre may re ...

as Matthieu *

Dominique Lavanant Dominique Lavanant (born 24 May 1944) is a César Award-winning French film and theatrical actress. She is known for her comedy skills especially with posh and distinguished characters like Rosalind Russell's; characters often defined by the ...

as Vanessa *

Jean-Michel Dupuis Jean-Michel Dupuis (born in 1955) is a French theatre, TV and film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern me ...

as Étienne * Sheila O'Connor as Pénélope Fontanet * Alexandra Gonin as Samantha Fontanet *

Bernard Giraudeau Bernard René Giraudeau (18 June 1947 – 17 July 2010) was a French actor, film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer. Early life He was born on 18 June 1947 in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime. In 1963 he enlisted in the French navy as a tra ...

as Éric Thompson *

Jean-Pierre Castaldi Jean-Pierre Castaldi (born 1 October 1944) is a French actor. He is the father of French TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television program ...

as Brassac * Jacques Ardouin as Père de Raoul * Evelyne Bellego as Éliane *

Richard Bohringer Richard Bohringer (born 16 January 1942) is a French actor. Personal life Bohringer was born in Moulins, Allier, to a French mother and a German father. He is the father of actress Romane Bohringer, and has three other children, Mathieu, Richa ...

as Guibert *

Jean-Claude Bouillaud Jean-Claude Bouillaud (7 June 1927 – 20 June 2008) was a French film and television actor. Biography Jean-Claude Bouillaud is the son of Charles Bouillaud, prolific actor from the 1940s to the 1960s. He first worked for about fifteen years a ...

as Father Boum 2 *

as himself

Production

Soundtrack

# "

" (Cosma-Jordan) by Richard Sanderson – 4:45 # "It Was Love" (Cosma-Jordan) by The Regiment – 4:30 # "Formalities (instrumental)" (Cosma-Jordan) by Orchestra Vladimir Cosma – 3:40 # "Gotta Get a Move On" (Cosma-Jordan) by

Karoline Krüger Karoline Krüger (born 13 February 1970 in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian singer, actress and composer. Career Krüger's first TV appearance was at the age of 11, in a youth show called ''Halvsju''. She got her breakthrough in 1988, first by ...

– 2:58 # "Swingin' Around" (Cosma-Jordan) by The Cruisers – 2:47 # "Gotta Get a Move On" (Cosma-Jordan) by The Regiment – 4:42 # "Formalities" (Cosma-Jordan) by The Regiment – 3:41 # "Gotta Get a Move On (instrumental)" (Cosma-Jordan) by Orchestra Vladimir Cosma – 3:00 # "Murky Turkey" (Cosma-Jordan) by Richard Sanderson – 3:48 # "Go On Forever" (Cosma-Jordan) by Richard Sanderson – 3:43

Reception

Box office

''La Boum'' was an international box office success, earning 4,378,500 admissions in France, 1,289,289 admissions in Hungary, and 664,981 admissions in West Germany.

Critical response

In his review for AllMovie, Hal Erickson called the film "disarmingly diverting" and a "real audience pleaser".

Sequel

A sequel, ''

'', was released in 1982 in which Marceau reprised her role as Vic. In the sequel, Vic does not have a boyfriend, while her parents are happily back together, and her great-grandmother is considering marriage to her long-term boyfriend. When Vic meets a young boy and becomes attracted to him, she faces the important decision of making love for the first time, as her friends have already done.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boum, La 1980 films 1980 romantic comedy films 1980s coming-of-age comedy films 1980s French films 1980s French-language films 1980s teen comedy films 1980s teen romance films Coming-of-age romance films Films about parties Films about puberty Films directed by Claude Pinoteau Films scored by Vladimir Cosma French coming-of-age comedy films French romantic comedy films French teen comedy films