Sitcom review

The normality of a suburban bourgeois household is disrupted when the father (François Marthouret) brings home a pet rat. Said rodent then becomes the catalyst for some profound personality changes among the family members. The son (Adrien de Van) comes out of the closet - - with a little help from the maid's hunky boyfriend - - and begins to conduct bedroom orgies; the daughter (Marina de Van), who's confined to a wheelchair after a suicide attempt, begins to indulge in S&M acts with her partner; while the mother (Evelyne Dandry) acts out her own incestuous longings. Confronted by such debauchery, the aloof patriarch decides that it's time to take a stand...

The first full-length feature from François Ozon (his shorts such as Regarde La Mer and A Summer's Dress have garnered acclaim on the festival circuit) is a taboo-breaking and gleefully absurdist black comedy. Influenced by the work of John Waters and Luis Buñuel, Sitcom blends elements of farce, horror and melodrama, while mercilessly subverting traditional sitcom conventions. It's laced with deadpan humour, adeptly acted, and systematically demolishes the nuclear family while championing transgressive desires. The Back To Basics brigade will be horrified.