Failed: Alexandre Kominek passes his exam on Netflix (review)

The Swiss comedian puts on the show in this light, deliberately stupid and often funny comedy.

He did everything not to laugh last year on Prime Video, in season 5 of LOL: who laughs, comes out!. This time, Alexandre Kominek splits in front of the camera in Recalé, a new French creation from Netflix by François Uzan.

A regular on the platform, the co-creator of Lupine and director of Loup-garous has imagined a popular comedy tinged with thriller, set in the middle of high school, around a crook gifted with numbers, drawn into an incredible plan by a lit police inspector. She promises him immunity for his shenanigans… on the condition that he becomes a final year math teacher. His mission? Get your hands on the son of a Russian drug lord, educated at the establishment. How will the certified mythomaniac cope with a room full of arrogant students in the midst of a hormonal crisis?

An ideal playground for Alexandre Kominek, who is having a blast. Valves, punchlines, swag energy: he does the job perfectly, well surrounded by a cast in tune with Laurence Arné to Fred Testot, via Joséphine de Meaux or Leslie Medina. The whole thing is made up of eight short, effective episodes, calibrated for one (or two) evenings of TV without the hassle.

Often amusing, and sometimes even downright funny, Recalé assumes an affable caricature of National Education, in passing pointing out Parcoursup, the lack of resources or the toxic influence of social networks. François Uzan shoots in all directions, without fuss, with an infectious good humor, which almost recalls the madness of Fiasco by his comrade Igor Gotesman (they worked together on Family Business).

Recalé is absolutely in the same vein, that of generous and imperfect entertainment. A little stupid around the edges, and sometimes not even very coherent. The police dimension of the comedy suddenly takes over in a much less controlled third act, which sees the scenario completely disintegrate. But no worries: we had a good time.

Failed, season 1 in 8 episodes, watch on Netflix.