08/08/2023 - Belgian filmmaker Olivier Van Hoofstadt returns with a popular and often effective railway comedy, carried by the energy of Artus

Having previously tries his hand at a cops and bad guys comedy in the form of Lucky [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Olivier Van Hoofstadt is returning to French and Belgian cinemas (via UGC and Vertigo Film Distribution respectively) on Wednesday 9 August with The Madness Express [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a concept comedy revolving around the hellish day of a train conductor who thought he’d be in for a pretty standard trip. Clearly, he hadn’t counted on the medley of infuriating men and women who would ultimately cross his path.

Sébastien is vegetating in Anvers, waiting impatiently to be transferred to Marseille where he plans to start a nice little family in the sun with his significant other. Before heading south, he needs to make one last journey, during which he will be subject to an inspection. This doesn’t worry our employee of the month, until he learns that the inspection is entrusted to Madeleine. THE Madeleine, fully deserving of her reputation as spectacularly unstable, a gentle nymphomaniac and definitively unmanageable. It’s a trip that proves to be more chaotic than expected, especially since Sebastien has been lumbered with the good-for-nothing son of the head (or near enough) of the SNCF so that he can learn through observing Sebastien. Moving from carriage to carriage, the task becomes harder and harder…

Relying on a solid and promising approach, Olivier Van Hoofstadt delivers an often effective popular comedy, carried by the energy of Artus and the creativity of the different "adversaries" he meets on the way. Every carriage offers up a specific universe, promising jokes and quid pro quos: the family carriage, well known to all travellers as the nineth circle of hell; the restaurant car, invaded by an English rugby team who are determined to taste every alcoholic drink in the bar; and the "problem kids" on a cultural trip. The film’s unity of place and time allows us to focus on the encounters, wisecracks and gags, and helps to lend a steady pace to the overall work (lasting 1 hour 30 minutes, to be precise), rather than delaying things too much. Led by a train conductor who calls himself Maverick and who’s as devoted to his role as a priest or an F-16 pilot, the increasingly wild gaggle of passengers have to contend, unsurprisingly, with a bomb threat which turns this low-key journey into a race against time.

Despite sometimes opting for naive characterisation or leaning too heavily on caricature, and although performances can be a little uneven, the film does boast a handful of stand-out actors who wield brilliant comic potential. Noteworthy supporting roles include those of Bérangère Mc Neese playing the part of the irresistibly ditzy girlfriend, Lyes Salem as the CEO of the big state-owned company who’s worried about his son’s sluggish adolescence, and Lison Daniel, the delightfully high-pitched "militant relaxation therapist". It’s a deftly led and entertaining film, buoyed by some wonderful acting revelations, and enhancing Artus’ great likeability as the new king of French comedy.

The Madness Express is produced by Vendôme Films (France), Beside Productions (Belgium) and TF1 Films Production (France). International sales are steered by Newen Connect.

(Translated from French)