There’s nothing quite like summertime when you’re young – the combination of cool air, warm temperatures and the refreshing iciness of whatever body of water we find ourselves in on a hot afternoon has always been something that one tends to remember quite fondly – and it only helps if we’re surrounded by friends and family to pass the time with. Guillaume Brac managed to capture the most visceral sensations of youth in his astonishing comedy, All Hands on Deck (French: ), a hilarious, irreverent leap into the dog days of summer. Telling the story of a pair of lovable slackers who set off on a road trip to a small resort town, just so that one of them may have the chance to spend time with a young woman he fell head-over-heels in love with after a party one evening, is an absolute delight, and a fervent reminder of the fact that some of the most effective stories are those that are nothing but unassuming and don’t demand one’s attention, but rather work their way into your heart, stealing your focus and allowing you to just have a good time, rather than taking us on a self-indulgent journey into some overly-sentimental stories. All Hands on Deck is a marvel – both a very simple film, but also one that establishes itself as something far more complex than we’d expect at first glance, the film carries a heft that supersedes all expectations, delivering some knockout emotional content that works tremendously well in the context of what is essentially nothing more than a touching, coming-of-age story about navigating a hostile world, and finding one’s own identity in the process.

On a purely conceptual level, All Hands on Deck is not a complex film, and it does exceptionally well in avoiding generic cliches or an overabundance of details that would otherwise derail this delightfully simple film. It is, at the core, the story of two friends on a cross-country trip, and tracks their various misadventures along the way. The film does work towards an overarching narrative, that of the main character in pursuit of his love interest, but this only manifests in the final act, with the preceding hour being filled with a blend of romantic yearnings and bombastic comedy that finds Brac balancing both the emotional gravitas of the melancholy the informs much of the film, and the entertaining aspects that keep it so thoroughly engaging, captivating viewers with its happy-go-lucky optimism, and clear willingness to take its simple but effective premise to places where we’d not normally expect it to go, without it becoming all that ludicrous. Not quite a work of slice-of-life realism, but still one that is built on a clear sense of authenticity, All Hands on Deck feels plucked directly from the memories of those who experienced the joyful recklessness of youth, where the idea of driving across the country purely for the sake of wooing someone you barely knew seemed like the perfect way to spend a week. How Brac, who is pretty much a seasoned filmmaker by now, uses this premise to evoke a sense of longing, which feels just as genuine as the heartfelt humour that frames it, immediately separates this from similarly-themed comedies, which may try and reach for emotional pathos, but fall short when it comes to actually doing something meaningful with it.

The key to what makes All Hands on Deck can easily be found in the more intimate moments that exist between these characters, who are shown to be almost unabashedly realistic, to the point where some may even consider it something of a flaw, since the natural performances being given by these actors sometimes feels a bit out of place in a film that is striving to be a very entertaining comedy, rather than one that touches on grittier issues of existence. It would’ve been so easy to have these characters come across as grating, especially since the very nature of the film seems to be intent on showing them as foolish, reckless but good-natured young men trying to work their way through the world by any means necessary, which entailed some carefully-curated mischief and a lot of deception to get their way. The film narrowly avoids making them caricatures through its dedication to finding the humanity in thinly veiled archetypes, which is then rendered entirely different through the spirited performances being given by the two leads, as well as a variety of peripheral characters, who work their way into the narrative at various points. It pays off spectacularly well, especially when we realize that Eric Nantchouang and Salif Cisséare giving two of the most compelling performances of the year. The former in particular is incredible, since he manages to be effortlessly charming with a role that can be broad at one moment, and then astonishingly internal at another, making his performance one defined by an unpredictable complexity that we rarely see when looking at romantic leads. The performances in All Hands on Deck are directly tied to the narrative strengths of the story, creating a symbiotic dynamic that works incredibly well and gives the film quite unconventional depth.

More than anything else, All Hands on Deck is a delightful film that focuses on something far more important than any of the other superficial elements, becoming one of the most touching portrayals of friendship ever portrayed on screen. Nantchouang and Cisséare (as well as Édouard Sulpice, who plays their newest acquaintance, a stuffy city boy who doesn’t realize the havoc his two companions are about to cause) are fantastic on their own, but it’s how they interact with each other than carries the most meaning. The final act of the film is dedicated to resolving the romantic theme of the film, but by this point, we’ve been so enraptured by the simple but spellbinding performances being given by the leads, anything else not relating to them fades into the background when we realize the truth depths to which this film is willing to take its exploration of the friendship between the main characters. Perhaps it’s a result of their impeccable chemistry that leads us to believe they were friends, or simply the writing that paid attention to developing them as individuals, both actors are terrific, and bring such nuance to the roles. This is woven into the narrative, which places equal importance on the role of their friendship – All Hands on Deck is a film about different kinds of relationships, and while the general thrust of the story may be directly related to the idea of a man pursuing his potential girlfriend, it is really about the platonic love that can exist between two people who share common interests, and depend on each other as individuals, without any sense of amorous tension, while being executed with the same upbeat tenderness that we’d find in a romantic comedy. It’s what binds this film together and makes it such an astoundingly complex one, despite the very clear simplicity underpinning it.

All Hands on Deck is an absolute delight in every conceivable way. It is unassuming, simple and often incredibly hilarious, which is quite fascinating, considering the genre it occupies. It avoids conventions very creatively, telling a meaningful story that comes across as brimming with emotion, but never seems saccharine or heavy-handed, always having a spark of mischief pulsating through it. Most importantly, this is a film with a lot of heart simmering below the surface – it never feels compelled to be the definitive work on any of its themes, choosing to instead be a sweetly sentimental glimpse into a few days in the lives of its protagonists, who are portrayed as nothing different from the ordinary people we encounter daily. Yet, it’s in this quaint and unfurnished approach that the film truly builds up its brilliance and becomes something special, carrying a message of resilience and tenacity that may not appear to be that prominent, but gradually makes itself known throughout the film. It’s a poignant, funny and lovingly tender comedy about life and its many unexpected obstacles, and while it may not take itself too seriously, its overriding message of just living your life as best you can is incredibly poignant and is one of the many reasons why All Hands on Deck is such an essential film that deserves to be seen and adored by as wide an audience as possible.