The gay romcom gets a frisky fairytale remix in Mikael Buch's debut feature Let My People Go!, a hectic, colour-saturated Euro farce that sends up a multitude of stereotypes.

After completing his comparative sauna cultures degree, Reuben (Nicolas Maury) became a mailman in smalltown Finland after marrying his Finnish love Teemu (Jarkko Niemi) in a bid to escape his dysfunctional family.

After a queer turn of events, Reuben winds up bringing home a hefty package bursting with almost 200,000 euros. Alas, a misunderstanding about it serves as the breaking point in the pair's relationship, and a fed-up Teemu kicks Reuben out. Poor Reuben is prone to bad luck, but his overreactions make matters—needless to say—worse. And his family, who he seeks refuge with in Paris just prior to Passover, magnify everything to the nth degree.

Each family member brings heaping servings of drama to the table: his critical dad reveals a longheld secret, his stressed-out sister is about to divorce her abrasive husband, his quick-tempered brother is prone to punching people out, and his asthmatic mother (played by Pedro Almodóvar alumna Carmen Maura) smothers Reuben with attention and advice.

Needless to say, all manner of campy hijinks ensue and Jewish gags abound (including a Jew-You spray and a Coming Out of Egypt gay nightclub party). Meanwhile, Teemu's storyline gets a bit lost in the shuffle (a confused Teemu, back in Finland, pines for Reuben while reconnecting with a former flame), as the focus shifts to the frenetic family furor.

Maury plays Reuben (the name perhaps a nod to American star Paul Reubens, the Pee Wee Herman actor who this character is reminiscent of) with charm but charisma alone isn't quite enough to engender a sympathetic connection with viewers. Nonetheless, the entire cast does turn in their best efforts to entertain and keep audiences laughing in this aesthetically appealing, stylized production.

The Vancouver Jewish Film Festival presents Let My People Go! on Saturday (November 10) at 9:15 p.m. at the Ridge Theatre (3113 Arbutus Street).

You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig. You can also follow the Georgia Straight's LGBT coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/StraightLGBT.