In 1987, Marcel Béliveau appeared on French TV show 'Surprise Sur Prises' and opened the doors of France to his fellow Québec comedians. Anthony Kavanagh, Michel Courtemanche, Stéphane Rousseau, Véronique Dicaire, Rachid Badouri and Sugar Sammy have all successfully tried their hand at French comedy, and the next generation of comedians is assured with Mariana Maza, Reda Saoui and Virginie Fortin. This documentary, commented by Québec and French personalities, retraces their history through hilarious sketches, cult parodies, TV and radio shows and happenings.
Michel Courtemanche (born December 11, 1964 in Laval, Quebec, Canada) is a Québécois comedian and actor. He has drawn hundreds of thousands to his one-man shows in Quebec, France, Belgium and Switzerland. His debut one-man show, A New Comic is Born, ran for more than five hundred performances and earned him two Felix nominations. His second, The New Adventures of Michel Courtemanche, filled theatres in both North America and Europe and spawned his second international hit video. Courtemanche has internationally sold out enormous houses usually reserved for rock stars (although such shows are quite commonplace for comedians in Quebec). He has even inspired a popular one-of-a-kind hardcover comic book. He has starred in Québécois films La Nuit de Noces and Karmina 2, and on the Secret Adventures of Jules Verne television series, on the Sci Fi Channel (United States). His style of comedy can be best summed up as mime combined with sound effects, as he is most often seen interacting with invisible objects or even people and using his voice to complete the scene. He is also particularly good at making remarkable grimaces.