La bostella

Edouard Baer plays an eccentric talk-show host who tries an unusual experiment: before going on air he brings together his regular panel for a month of rehearsals at a rented villa. What starts as a practical idea turns awkward quickly, as a mismatched troupe that includes a lawyer, a transvestite performer, a grown woman who behaves like a child, and various eccentric hangers-on collide in cramped quarters. Tension and petty rivalries build as rehearsals give way to off-mic arguments, strange rituals, and comic missteps, while Baer's character oscillates between sardonic control and bewilderment as the lines between performance and private life blur.

Released in 2000, La bostella was co-created and co-written by Édouard Baer and Fabrice Roger-Lacan, with Baer directing and starring. The film was shot on digital video and takes its name from a 1960s dance craze, pairing a theatrical cast that includes Philippe Laudenbach, Rosine Favey, Gilles Gaston-Dreyfus, and Jean-Michel Lahmi.

La bostella had a fairly limited theatrical run, mainly in France and at select festivals, and it didn't register as a mainstream commercial success. It’s better known as a niche release than a box office performer.

Among fans of offbeat French comedy the film helped underline Baer's idiosyncratic public persona. Its oddball ensemble moments and surreal rehearsal sequences have been quoted and recalled within those circles, and the picture maintains a modest cult appreciation for its willingness to be strange rather than tidy.

Critical response was mixed, reflected in an average user rating of about 6.0/10 from a small pool of voters. Reviewers and viewers who connect with the movie tend to praise its satirical look at television life, its focus on performance and identity, and its awkward, often absurd humor. Others find the tone uneven, but many agree it’s an unusual, character-driven comedy that plays by its own rules.