With or without children? This summer, Friends questions parenthood with humor and tenderness!

Throughout the week, AlloCiné invites you to discover some of the comedies of 2025 through a selection of the Alpe d’Huez Festival. The Isère Comedy Film Festival, now in its 28th year, presents both first feature films and discoveries, as well as films by more established directors. In the spotlight with or without children?, which will arrive everywhere in France on February 19.

This first feature film is written and directed by Elsa Blayau, who has already directed several short films and series. He was surrounded by Alexis Raoult, his writing partner, as well as Antonin Furlon, who had previously written and directed Chasse gardee.

With or without children? is a sparkling and dynamic family comedy that takes a look at the Friends movie. At its center is this question: How does parenthood destroy friendships?

The pitch is as follows: when Pio and Anais announce their marriage to their friends, it is clear: it will be without children. Three days of celebration and prosecco on the horizon! But when a group of their friends show up with kids and think they can hide the bride and groom, disaster strikes (very) quickly…

Judd Apatow and Sex & The City among other references

The film is part of the buddy comedy tradition, with a cast of characters as funny as they are endearing, and lots of crazy situations. Sometimes we think of the edgy humor of The Hangover when things get out of hand and get away from its characters… much to the delight of the audience!

Elsa Blayau says more about her reports: “When making a Friends movie, bronzers are the ultimate and incomparable reference. each one The character is treated very well. I also had in mind the films of Cedric Klapisch, e.g Spanish Inn and Russian Dolls, but also series like Girls by Lena Dunham and sex and the city It is a series that features strong female characters that offer Each has a different view of the topic studied. Judd Apatow movies like 40: Instructions for Use are also a reference for us. We are talking about the same topic: the transition to adulthood after having children, the moment whenThe couple realizes that they have grown old. The comedies I like best are the ones where laughter and emotion are mixed together..”

A universal theme that many people can relate to, including those without children

Elsa Blayau also explains that because of the very warm and sunny atmosphere of the landscapes, she had in mind the 2nd season of the White Lotus series, which takes place in Italy. “I wanted to put it in the pictureThe heat of the country. By taking care of the image and aesthetics, it is possible to shoot a popular comedy!“

The original idea for the film came from observing the people around him and developing his friendships. “The project was born with the arrival of my children, especially other people’s children. with me Wife Alexis Raoult, we started writing this movie with inspiration from those situations We were living and what we thought was a good subject for comedy. communication with friends and The family changed, everyone had their own approach, their own way of teaching… We laughed a lot about that We told ourselves that this was a universal subject that many people could relate to. Find among those who have no children.”

Young generation of actors

One of the film’s strengths is its likable cast, including Bertrand Usclat, one of the stars of this edition of Alpe d’Huez. Bertrand Usclat is represented in the competition with two films this year and is also responsible for presenting the opening and closing ceremonies of L’Alpe d’Huez 2025.

The gang consists of some actors we saw in the Netflix series Plan Coeur (Syrus Shahidi and Joséphine Drai), but also Rayane Bensetti, Julien Pestel, Tiphaine Daviot, Nadia Roz and even Adele Galloy.

28th edition with first time stamp

Created in 1997, the L’Alpe d’Huez festival takes place, as its name suggests, in a winter sports resort. Located at an altitude of 1,800 meters in the middle of the Yser, the estate has been welcoming thousands of festivalgoers for almost three decades to discover the great titles of upcoming comedy cinema every year. The 28th edition of the festival, which started on January 13th, is underway: screenings, meetings and signings in the program are marked for the first time this week. Because among the ten feature films participating in the competition, seven are their directorial debuts, including L’amour c’est surcôté.