Take a video camera, a couple of mates and one anti-Establishment joker, shake them all up, jiggle them about, make them do silly things, and you've got a series of gags by Rémi Gaillard, 34, Montpellier's very own eccentric.
His motto is "C'est en faisant n'importe quoi qu'on devient n'importe qui" (by doing just about anything you can become just about anyone). The one above is one of my favourites. I like it not only because it's silly, but because it shows he has a pretty cool skill with the ball. He's been making videos since the late 90's when he saw a hidden camera gags programme and thought he could do that too.
Most of the videos are made in and around Montpellier, so for those who are interested in seeing lesser known spots of cities, you get to see places from a different angle. In 'Decathlon', Rémi does a 100m sprint up the tram line racing a tram, a marathon around the Palavas roundabout finishing up at the Place de la Comedie via the tram tunnel into a crowd of seemingly enthusiastic fans who were in fact there for a footie match.
In 'Kangourou' he is dressed up in a kangaroo costume and you can see him bouncing all over the city, out of the zoo, and being beaten up by the cops when he tried to knock off their cap. In another, he is Rocky, training out boxing hanging carcasses of meat in a supermarket, jogging along the train tracks, boxing the 'kangaroo' in the zoo, and weightlifting in a lift. In another, he infiltrates a French Cup football match as a Lorient player and gets to hold the cup and shake Jacques Chirac's hand. In another, he drives a kart around the streets of Montpellier dressed as Mario and throwing banana skins under the wheels of cars.
Some of his most audacious are as an imposter such as in the Lorient football gag. In another, he gets to play tennis with Yannick Noah, handball with the Montpellier team, rugby in a game against Bourgoin, volleyball, and joining in with a Tour de France interview for France 2.
His videos have been viewed 513million times, a figure which makes him an impressive internet star. Will he make it onto television? Apparently he's been approached by tv, and went up to Paris for meetings only to come away disgusted with the way his ideas were stolen by tv presenters. It was this experience that pushed him to pursue his imposter gags, especially those against tv presenters!
His next project is to make a film. It'll be a challenge to transform 2min gags into a 90-minute movie, but good luck to him. He's got the courage, nerve and cheek to go far, that one!
What a hoot. I can see that he annoys quite a few people with his exploits.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year.
Nick
Yes, he does, Nick. But hey, it's all just good fun...
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you too.