Bye Bye Morons

Bye Bye Morons tells the story of 45-year-old Suze Trappet (Virginie Efira), a hairdresser who finds out that she has a terminal auto-immune disease. With the knowledge of her imminent death weighing on her, she decides to look for the son she was forced to abandon when she was 15. Along for the ride are burnt-out civil servant and white-hat hacker Jean-Baptiste Cuchas (Albert Dupontel), as well as blind archivist Serge Blin (Nicolas Marié), who help the “undigitised” Suze navigate the bureaucratic labyrinth to track down her son.

This is a darkly funny film, not subtle with its commentary or comedy in the slightest but revelling in its own comedic space to make an intensely fun and engaging experience out of bureaucracy – of all things. Bye Bye Morons has a lot to say about the commodification of human life under capitalism and the dystopian nightmare of the modern world, and manages to work all these messages into the various narrative threads with a playful and heavily satirical hand. 

This strong satire is not at the expense of the film’s emotional core, and Bye Bye Morons is able to switch effortlessly from hilarious kinetic set pieces to genuinely touching narrative beats with remarkable speed and effectiveness. These confident and seamless shifts in tone are a testament to the slick cinematography and tight scripting, facilitated in part by excellent performances across the board. Efira is great as the piece’s protagonist, holding the story together with her emotive portrayal; the chemistry she has with Dupontel and Marié works perfectly to create some very fun and compelling character dynamics. 

If there’s one thing to knock Bye Bye Morons for, it’s that the ending doesn’t quite stick the landing, but for the most part it’s a thoroughly entertaining piece with a delightful mix of boisterous satire and strong pathos. It’s a film that sticks it to The Man, but also doesn’t neglect the more tender sides of humanity. 

Umar Ali

Bye Bye Morons is released in select cinemas on 23^rd July 2021.

Watch the trailer for Bye Bye Morons here: