CAMPING PARADIS - S11E05: MA VIE EST BELLE (TF1)

Launched in 2006, Camping Paradis was created by Michel Alexandre, Ludovic Pion-Dumas & Anne Badel. 

Produced by JLA Productions with TF1, this comedy series is centered on the everyday life and problems of Tom Delormes, the owner of the Camping Paradis, and his team.

The regular cast members of Camping Paradis since its start are Laurent Ournac (Tom Delormes), Thierry Heckendorn (André Durieux) and Patrick Guérineau (Xavier Proteau). Humorist Candiie plays Audrey Dukor since season 8. Patrick Paroux (Around the world in 80 days, Amelie) recurs as Christian Parizot, the most faithful client of the campsite. In 2017, Camping Paradis celebrated its 50th episode and left the 90-minute format for the same 2 x 52-minute as TF1's long-running comedy/drama Joséphine, ange gardien. The characters of the two hits met two years ago in an episode of each series. 

Ma vie est belle is the third episode of Camping Paradis directed by Laurent Ournac. It was penned by Laurent Mondy (Le prix de la loyauté, Commissaire Magellan), who wrote several other episodes and co-wrote the Camping Paradis side of the crossover. The title is a nod to La vie est belle, the French title of It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946). The friends of Tom Delormes want to celebrate his 35th birthday but Tom is depressed because of his life at the Camping Paradis. An encounter with a wasp sends him in the office of an angel who looks like Monsieur Parizot.

The celestial being shows Delormes what would have been his life if he had married the love of his youth, if he had two teenage children, if he were a rich campsite franchise owner and if his sister Elsa managed the place. Ma vie est belle is a fun and often hilarious exercice de style with a welcome touch of self-parody. Patrick Paroux shows once again his brilliance, particularly when one of those irritating drone shots (so used by French contemporary television fiction) ends badly for the drone.

The guest cast includes notable performances by Mathieu Coniglio and Gaëlle Gauthier as different characters in each of Tom's alternate lives and by Bartholomew Boutellis as the guru-esque Zacharie. Also with Barbara Probst (Elsa), Esther Valding (Zoé), Clarisse Lhoni-Botte (Christelle), Charlotte Boillot (Campeuse gym), Sarah Brooks (Jeune campeuse inspectrice), etc. Produced by Jean-Luc Azoulay and Richard Berkowitz. Bernard Paccalet exec produces. Alain Bucaille is the production manager.

Produced with the participation of RTL-TVI and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. Music by Frédéric Porte. Main title song composed by Sébastien Lipszyc, Emmanuel Lipszyc and Franck Lascombes. Cinematography by Olivier Guarguir. François Salisch is the production designer. Costumes by Nathalie de Belleval. Sandrine Diot is the artistic coordinator. Main title sequence by Cinespi. Distributed by TF1 Studio.

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2018/09/camping-paradis-un-ange-gardien-au.html (Camping Paradis: Un ange gardien au camping)
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2018/03/josephine-ange-gardien-trois-campeurs.html (Joséphine, ange gardien: Trois campeurs et un mariage)