Seducing Doctor Lewis

La grande séduction, Canada 2003

In Jean-François Pouliot’s genial comedy the bumbling old-timers of a picturesque but depressed Québec fishing village concoct an elaborate scheme to convince a young Montreal medic to sign on as resident doctor. In order to anticipate his every whim they tap his phone. Then, with stunning ineptitude, they pander to his tastes for international cuisine and fusion jazz, not to mention his unfortunate passion for the incomprehensible game of cricket… A huge hit in Canada, this fond and funny picture of old dogs up to new tricks crosses the language barrier with ease. “Seducing Doctor Lewis has been described as a Québécois version of The Full Monty. But it’s closer in spirit to films such as Waking Ned Devine or the Ealing classic Whisky Galore, where an isolated village engages in communal subterfuge towards a common goal. The comic tension lies in wondering which event will happen first: a villager exposing the charade or the hoodwinked outsider catching on to the game.” — Denis Seguin, Screendaily