In the 1980s, France still had Yves Saint Laurent, but America had leg-warmers and spandex. They had Mitterand, but we had Reagan and contrary to what you might have heard, America in the Eighties offered far more professional opportunities for women. Consequently, an American spy reluctantly posted to France on an industrial espionage assignment has two potent weapons at her disposal: aerobics and feminism. French aerospace hardly stands a chance in co-creators Geraldine de Margerie & Maxime Donzel’s ten-part TouTouYouTou, which premieres today on MHz Choice.
Karine Lurdou could have been a great airplane designer, but instead she married pompous Didier, who treats her like a live-in maid, while he flails about hopelessly as a clueless executive at the Blagnac aeronautic company. Their daughter Laura hates them both—but her mother really can’t blame her. She pretty much hates herself too. Jane, the super-fit American expat uber-cougar who moves in next door does not exactly boost her self-esteem either.
Yet, that is ironically what Jane seems determined to do. She convinces Lurdou to try her aerobics classes at the community center. The 1980s craze had yet to reach Blagnac, so the moves and the style are all new to Lurdou and her friends. Her best friend, Mapi (who also happens to be the mistress of the aerospace company director) is skeptical, but Lurdou is receptive. Frankly, she gets the most of Jane’s message of physical and emotional empowerment, but she is also the only one who starts to suspect their aerobics instructor is a spy.
Obviously, there is an anti-American bias baked into TouTouYouTou. However, Alexia Barlier is so terrific as the jazzercizing Mata Hari, she almost single-handedly flips the audience’s nationalistic loyalties. It isn’t just her wardrobe. Barlier is enormously charismatic and caustically droll. Watching her scheming and skulking about is highly entertaining.
Claire Dumas is also very good as Lurdou, convincingly portraying both her outer and inner transformations. In fact, the strength of their two performances makes the somewhat ambiguous conclusion so counter-intuitively satisfying.
Regardless, the art and costume design are richly detailed and fully era appropriate. Every episode looks as if a series such as The Americans was transplanted into the body of a cheesy 1980s aerobics movie, like Heavenly Bodies, which is a lofty compliment. Yes, there are more amusing moments than annoying ones, but the ration is smaller than it should have been. Viewers definitely never forget this is a French series, that’s for sure. Recommended with some reservations and caveats, TouTouYouTou starts streaming today (8/20) on MHz Choice.
