A feel-good Hollywood movie disguised as a french movie

Rating: 7/10 (3 April 2016)

Let me start off by mentioning what I liked about this movie. The casting was great, and both Omar Sy and Francois Cluzet did outstanding jobs, and the relationship between them seems natural. It was also a very funny movie- though watching with subtitles, i couldn't help but fall for Dris's charm and laugh out loud. Unfortunately, the above-mentioned just isn't enough to qualify this movie for being considered great.
I expected a sensitive, understated French film- what i witnessed was nothing but a feel-good Hollywood movie with little to no substance. Where was the point of conflict? Philip and Dris's relationship, which was- I believe- the point of the movie, suffered no breaking points, no hardship. There were a few points of conflict in Dris's life, which never really resolved themselves.
In addition, the frequent use of jump cuts and short takes, while useful for comedic effect, blocked this movie from being anything but a group of amusing anecdotes about the relationship between invalid and reluctant caretaker and finally between two friends. There was very little substantial storyline, replaced by various amusing scenes.
I mentioned before that this was a feel-good Hollywood movie, and that in my opinion is the worst part. The film was full of unrealistic scenarios and characters, a sort of la la land where very little struggle is revealed to us.
Look, I did enjoy Intouchables. But I don't think it deserves to be in the IMDb top 100, and I believe it was a wasted opportunity.