Rules of dumb comedy dictate that a man who has his life saved becomes the dedicated slave to his rescuer. "Après Vous," which means "Dumb Comedy" in French - joking, "After You" is the real translation - changes things by turning the hero into a slave, because he feels guilty after stopping a man from hanging himself. Thus, Parisian waiter Antoine (Daniel Auteuil), fretting that he's caused suicidal Louis (José Garcia) to face up to a miserable life in which he has no job, lover or money, dedicates himself to setting Louis on the path to happiness. Despite the objections of his girlfriend, Christine (Marilyne Canto), Antoine takes Louis into his home and under his wing. Taking Louis to the police or a hospital would be the prudent move, but if he did that, then we wouldn't have a movie. The longer you sit through the idiotic, overacted farce, the more you realize that not having this movie wouldn't be such a bad thing. Antoine sets to stopping Louis' suicide note from reaching grandparents, finding Louis a job and reuniting him with his ex-girlfriend, Blanche (Sandrine Kiberlain), who is now engaged, and whose dumping of Louis led to his misery. Tunisian-born director Pierre Salvadori is so in love with his premise that he makes no effort to explain it, asking us to accept that it's natural for Antoine to feel compelled to help. It's tough to follow along the laughter trail when you can't identify with his motivation. Nearly every joke is aimed at explaining how Antoine is a pushover. One scene features Antoine reading the suicide letter to Louis' near-blind grandmother, changing the depressed laments into joyful declarations. The woman asks for a ride, and Louis clumsily has to dive into the back seat to hide. These, along with most of the attempts at humor, inspire the same mental reaction: Why? Auteuil, as if realizing that the setup and dialogue aren't funny, attempts to make up the difference by overgesturing and twisting his face into various looks of zany confoundment. At least a somewhat compelling love story emerges, as Antoine attempts to reunite Louis with Blanche. Antoine elaborately manages to get Louis hired on at his restaurant and works on improving his confidence. He also runs recon on Blanche, whom he falls for, alienating both Christine and Louis. It's here that the film finally dabbles in making sense, as Antoine's motivations for once are self-serving - he's escaping from his own dreary life by living through that of another. A film wholly dedicated to that theme would have been far more interesting than this unfunny mess. The most effective joke in the film is also its oldest: Two waiters at Antoine's restaurant walk toward each other with plates stacked high. They don't see each other, collide and fall over. Sure, it's not too funny, but you take what you can get. If anyone tries to insist that you come along to see the film, it's best to reply, "Après vous," and then head in the other direction.