The French Kissers

The French Kissers (Les Beaux Gosses, 2009) is a teen comedy you can watch online, and it gets adolescence painfully right. Hervé is fourteen and aggressively ordinary: bad skin, homework, and a brain stuck on one subject. Girls don't notice him. He notices nothing but girls.

Then Aurore, one of the prettiest kids in class, somehow takes an interest — and Hervé has absolutely no idea what to do about it. Vincent Lacoste, in his first role, plays awkwardness so precisely that you may want to watch through your fingers. Around him are a best friend who lies about his conquests and a mother (Noémie Lvovsky) who humiliates her son just by existing. Director Riad Sattouf, the celebrated cartoonist, draws youth as sweaty, petty and very funny rather than glossy, and the film took the César for Best First Feature. A great pick if you're tired of polished coming-of-age stories and want the real, cringing thing. Stream The French Kissers (2009) online on iFILM.