Les Compères
1983 film by Francis Veber
Les Compères (French: [le kɔ̄pɛʁ]; English title: ComDads) is a 1983 French comedy film written and directed by Francis Veber, and starring Gérard Depardieu, Pierre Richard and Anny Duperey. The film had 4,847,229 admissions in France.
In 1997, this movie was remade as Fathers' Day in the US. When it was released in the U.S. in the summer of 1984, it received negative reviews from many critics. Siskel & Ebert gave it two resounding "thumbs down" marks on their TV show, stating that the movie was "basically a French sitcom" and had too many stupid characters.
Plot
A teenage boy has run away from home. His father is ineffective at finding him, so his mother contacts two former lovers from around the time her son was conceived, telling them both that the child is their son and asking them to look for him. One of them (Depardieu) is a tough journalist investigating the Mafia, while the other (Richard) is a timid former teacher who was on the verge of committing suicide when he received the telephone call. The two former boyfriends finally meet, and together they locate the son. They both argue who the father really is. In the end the son tells both Depardieu and Richard (while the other is out of earshot) that his mother thinks that he is the father.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Les Compères” is 1983 film by Francis Veber. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Compères, film and Francis, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1983 film by Francis Veber” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2425788. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1983, 1997 and 1984.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Les Compères”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Les Compères primary sources, Les Compères archive and Compères research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Les Compères”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Les Compères” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.