A failed actor with an overactive ego agrees to play the corpse for the police in crime scene reenactments.

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A former “best newcomer” César winner, Jean Renault is a failed actor in search of the next performance to qualify for his certificate as a temporary entertainment industry worker in France. At the end of his rope, he accepts an unusual job: playing the corpse for the police in crime scene reenactments. Arriving in Megève with an overactive ego and an obsession for detail, he insinuates himself into an unsavory investigation headed by Noémie, a charming judge...

With its false similarity to Sunshine Cleaning, another almost black comedy with corpses, Je fais le mort at first glance seems to be a lively farce that starts off with a good idea supported by two actors who are both unexpected and unusual – the irresistible François Damiens and the funny Géraldine Nakache. But Jean-Paul Salomé’s movie soon unveils its weaknesses and the magic disappears, “thanks” to stiff direction, humor that loses its edge and dialogues that lose their bite. In an attempt to juggle between genres, the director is defeated at all levels. In the end, however, he does prove he can do much better than Belphégor and Arsène Lupin.