Laurent’s little life is all settled. He has a house, a mortgage and a family. He’s the head of a mobile phone company. He loves his wife and their son. He’s happy. Until the day it rains in the house, he gets a text message meant for his wife, and he realizes his life is not what he thinks it is. Then his phone gets stolen, his house burns down, his wife leaves him and his son goes missing. Life can’t get any worse. SMS is a kind of French version of The Hangover.

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Carried by Guillaume de Tonquédec, SMS is founded on the idea that your life could be turned upside down at any second – in the time it takes to receive a text message. Adapted from Laurent Bénégui’s 2009 novel, SMS goes in all directions, in search of a rhythm it can’t seem to find. The comedy is weak despite a long series of comical and improbable situations, and the co-starring roles are like a hair in your soup – such as Géraldine Pailhas as our hero’s ex with Bond Girl looks, who inexplicably still has a thing for Laurent, even though he dumped for no reason. Discovered in Le prénom (for which he received a Best Supporting Actor César), Guillaume de Tonquédec has his first starring role in this questionable film, in which he is nonetheless credible as your everyday Joe.