Mama Weed

Mama Weed (French: La Daronne, lit. 'The Mum')^[4] is a 2020 French crime comedy film directed by Jean-Paul Salomé from a screenplay he co-wrote with Hannelore Cayre, and in collaboration with his son Antoine Salomé.^[5] The film is based on Cayre's 2017 novel The Godmother.^[6] It stars Isabelle Huppert. It had its world premiere at the L'Alpe d'Huez Film Festival on 16 January 2020. It was released in France on 9 September 2020.

Mama Weed
Theatrical release poster
French	La Daronne
Literally	The Mum
Directed by	Jean-Paul Salomé
Screenplay by	Jean-Paul Salomé Hannelore Cayre Antoine Salomé (collaboration)
Based on	The Godmother by Hannelore Cayre
Produced by	Jean-Baptiste Dupont[1] Kristina Larsen[1]
Starring	Isabelle Huppert
Cinematography	Julien Hirsch[1]
Edited by	Valérie Deseine[1]
Music by	Bruno Coulais[1]
Production companies	Les Films du Lendemain[1] La Boétie Films[1]
Distributed by	Le Pacte
Release dates	16 January 2020 (2020-01-16) (Alpe d'Huez) 9 September 2020 (2020-09-09) (France)
Running time	106 minutes[1]
Country	France
Language	French
Budget	€5.8 million[2]
Box office	$5.5 million[3]

Synopsis

Patience Portefeux is an Arabic–French translator for a French police precinct's narcotics unit. When she discover she knows the mother of one of the drug dealers, Patience decides to use her insider knowledge to protect her friend and gets herself deeper involved in the world of drug dealing.

Cast

• Isabelle Huppert as Patience Portefeux
• Hippolyte Girardot as Philippe
• Liliane Rovère as Patience's mother
• Jade Nadja Nguyen as Colette Fo
• Farida Ouchani as Khadidja
• Iris Bry as Hortense Portefeux
• Rebecca Marder as Gabrielle Portefeux
• Rachid Guellaz as Scotch
• Mourad Boudaoud as Chocapic
• Youssef Sahraoui as Cherkaoui brother 1
• Kamel Guenfoud as Cherkaoui brother 2

Release

Mama Weed had its world premiere at the L'Alpe d'Huez Film Festival on 16 January 2020.^[7][8] The film was originally scheduled to be released theatrically on 25 March 2020 but was postponed due to the French government's decision to close cinemas in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[9] It was finally released in France by Le Pacte on 9 September 2020.^[10] Music Box Films gave the film a limited theatrical release in the United States beginning on 16 July 2021.^[11][12]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 79% based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads, "Mama Weed fails to fully engage with its themes -- but that's a relatively small quibble with Isabelle Huppert in the central role."^[13] According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 9 critics, the film received "generally favorable reviews".^[14] Mama Weed received an average rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 33 reviews.^[15]

Nathalie Simon of Le Figaro wrote, "Jean-Paul Salomé's comedy about drug trafficking skillfully mixes the policier genre and humour".^[16]

Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter called it "cleverly conceived and amusingly performed, if never quite as funny as it could be".^[1]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
César Awards	12 March 2021	Best Adaptation	Hannelore Cayre and Jean-Paul Salomé	Nominated	[17]
Jacques Deray Prize	24 June 2021		Mama Weed	Won	[18][19]
Women Film Critics Circle	13 December 2021	Best Kept Secret		Won	[20]

References

1. Mintzer, Jordan (29 October 2020). "'Mama Weed' ('La Daronne'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
2. https://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=20166
3. "Mama Weed (2020)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
4. Morgenstern, Joe (22 July 2021). "'Mama Weed' Review: Mother, Moonlighter, Miscreant". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
5. Keslassy, Elsa (2 November 2018). "Isabelle Huppert to Play Drug Dealer in 'La Daronne' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
6. Elliott, Helen (September 2019). "'The Godmother' by Hannelore Cayre". The Monthly. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
7. Henry, Rachel (17 January 2020). "Isabelle Huppert et Elsa Zylberstein : Duo de charme à l'Alpe d'Huez". Purepeople (in French). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
8. Vavasseur, Pierre (17 January 2020). "Isabelle Huppert, reine des neiges au Festival de l'Alpe-d'Huez". Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
9. "Coronavirus : les sorties de "Pinocchio" et de "La Daronne" reportées". Le Dauphiné libéré (in French). 6 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
10. Balle, Catherine; Baronian, Renaud; Vavasseur, Pierre (8 September 2020). "Sorties cinéma du 9 septembre : La Daronne, Rocks, Adolescentes… nos coups de cœur". Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
11. Abele, Robert (14 July 2021). "'Mama Weed' Film Review: Isabelle Huppert's a Dealer in Addictive French Crime Comedy". TheWrap. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
12. "Mama Weed - International Films - Independent Films". Music Box Films. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
13. "Mama Weed". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
14. "Mama Weed Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
15. "Critiques Presse pour le film La Daronne". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 17 May 2023.
16. Simon, Nathalie (8 September 2020). "La Daronne: Isabelle Huppert stupéfiante". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
17. Deruisseau, Bruno (10 February 2021). "César 2021 : les nominations sont tombées". Les Inrockuptibles (in French). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
18. "Le 17e prix Jacques-Deray décerné à "La daronne"". Le Film français (in French). 3 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
19. "Prix Jacques Deray 2021". Institut Lumière (in French).
20. "Women Film Critics Circle Awards announced". Patheos. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.

External links

• Mama Weed at IMDb