La Chèvre

La Chèvre (English title: Knock on Wood, literal translation: The goat) is a 1981 buddy cop comedy film written and directed by Francis Veber, starring Pierre Richard and Gérard Depardieu. It is the first of three films featuring Richard and Depardieu as a comic duo. It’s an international co-production film between France and Mexico.

An American remake of this film was made in 1991, starring Martin Short and Danny Glover, entitled Pure Luck.

Plot

Marie Bens, the daughter of a CEO of a large company, is kidnapped while on vacation in Puerto Vallarta. The police investigation yields no results, so her father hires Campana (Gérard Depardieu), an imposing private detective specializing in disappearances, who spends a month in Mexico without finding a single lead. Desperate, Mr. Bens finally listens to a rather original idea from Meyer, the company psychologist. According to him, Campana is too "normal" to find Marie. The only way to succeed would be to send someone who shares her most notable trait: incredible bad luck. Meyer has identified the perfect candidate: François Perrin (Pierre Richard), an accountant whose life has been an endless series of mishaps. To illustrate his point, the psychologist conducts an impromptu test: he summons Perrin and asks him to sit at a large table. Faced with many empty chairs, Perrin hesitates and then chooses the one that is broken, causing him to fall. Feeling he has nothing to lose, Mr. Bens asks Perrin to take over the investigation, giving him carte blanche and the detective's help. Despite his reluctance to go along with this ridiculous plan, Campana eventually agrees to set off with Perrin, who takes his new role with utmost seriousness.