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{{about|the Quebecois film and media franchise|the Dire Straits song|Making Movies|other uses|Boys (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Les Boys
| image          = Les-boys.jpg
| caption        = Home video cover art
| director       = [[Louis Saia]]
| producer       = Richard Goudreau<br/>Jeffrey Tinnell
| writer         = Christian Fournier<br/>Louis Saïa
| narrator       =
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Marc Messier]]
* [[Rémy Girard]]
* [[Patrick Huard]]
* [[Serge Thériault]]}}
| music          = [[Normand Corbeil]]
| cinematography = [[Sylvain Brault]]
| editing        = [[Yvann Thibaudeau]]
| studio         =
| distributor    = CFP International
| released       = {{Film date|1997}}
| runtime        = 107 minutes
| country        = Canada
| language       = French
| budget         = CAD3,300,000 (estimated)
| gross          = $10,602,341<ref>{{Mojo title|lesboys}}</ref>
}}
'''''Les Boys''''' is a 1997 [[Quebec]]-made [[comedy]] film directed by [[Louis Saia]].  It has spawned three sequels and by any measure ([[Profit (accounting)|profit]], [[box office]] or attendance) is the most successful Quebec made film series of all time, and one of the most successful [[Canada|Canadian]]-made film series of all time.
==Plot==
The plot revolves around the players on a [[ice hockey|hockey]] team ("Les Boys") that play in a low level [[amateur]] hockey league.  They are made up of a wide variety of professions and personalities, including a [[police officer]], a barely competent [[Physician|doctor]], a [[mechanic]], an [[unemployed]] hockey [[trivia]] buff who has lost his confidence as a [[goaltender]], a shifty real estate salesman and a [[closeted gay]] [[lawyer]].  The team is sponsored by a pub owner, whose son desperately wants to play hockey with the older men.  The film starts at the time of the league championship, at which time the team is soundly thrashed in the final.
Meanwhile, the pub owner is losing at poker to the head of the local organized crime syndicate, to the tune of $50,000.  Given the opportunity to pay him back, the owner can only raise $25,000.  After threatening to break his leg, the crime boss proposes another wager - a game between Les Boys and his own team.  If Les Boys win, the debt is settled, but if they lose, the crime boss gets the pub.
==English translation of title==
Translating "Les Boys" to English poses obvious difficulties as the word "Boys" is borrowed directly from [[English language|English]].  As with most examples of English words borrowed into [[Quebec French]], it is treated grammatically as a French noun, and given the proper plural, definite article.  Literally, the title could be translated as "The 'Boys'", and this is the title used for English versions on [[videotape]] or [[DVD]].
==Film as part of Quebec culture==
Surprisingly, this is one of very few Quebec made feature films to deal with ice hockey, a near obsession for many in Quebec since the beginning of the 20th century. Outsiders often underestimate the importance of hockey to [[culture of Canada|Canadian culture]], and particularly to [[culture of Quebec|Quebec culture]].  A film about aging immature men pursuing their sport on a serious amateur level is not a new one (see ''[[The Longest Yard (1974 film)|The Longest Yard]]'', ''[[Mystery, Alaska]]'', etc.), but it struck a responsive chord with Quebec audiences, many of whom obviously saw a piece of themselves in the characters.{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}}
==Box office success==
''Les Boys'' cost about $3,300,000 (CAD) to make, and took in domestic box office of over $6,000,000 [[Canadian dollar|CAD]] and another $4,000,000 [[USD]] in the [[United States]]. Given the size of the Québec market (the film saw limited release in English Canada), a $6 million box office is the approximate equivalent of over $250 million for a domestic U.S. release, assuming a population ratio of about 1:40. Its three sequels were also the best performing films at the Québec box office in the years they were released.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}
==Reception==
French audiences generally enjoy the film far more than English audiences.  This is no doubt partially because most English versions of the film have a badly [[dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbed]] dialogue, whereas the French dialogue is far more realistic.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}
==Sequels==
Due to the success of the movie at the Quebec box office, Louis Saïa directed two additional sequels, ''Les Boys II'' and ''Les Boys III''. The third sequel, ''Les Boys IV'', was directed by George Mihalka.
The second movie is about the team playing in a tournament in [[Chamonix, France]]. During the movie, the team's equipment is stolen in Chamonix. They manage to get their equipment back and to win the tournament in a shootout. [[Daniel Russo]] join the cast of the movie. It grossed $6 million in the United States and Canada, including $3.8 million in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0137401/|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|title=Les Boys II|access-date=December 29, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Screen International]]|date=10 December 1999|page=30|title=Canada}}</ref>
The third one is more complex, as Stan's team members are demoted to a team managed by one of Stan's friends. During a matchup between the remaining Boys members and former Boys members, it is revealed that Stan's friend wants to use land around Stan's bar to build condos. The former Boys turn against their new team and Stan takes over his friend's bar. In this movie, the Boys play a game against the [[Canada women's national ice hockey team|Canada women's Olympic team]] consisting mainly of players from Quebec ([[Kim St-Pierre]], [[Caroline Ouellette]], [[Danielle Goyette]], [[Gina Kingsbury]] and others). The Boys are easily defeated by the girls.
The fourth movie is again a tournament in which the Boys' team ends up in a game against the French Legends Team (les ''Légendes du Hockey''). Some of the legends in the movie include [[Guy Lafleur]], [[Mike Bossy]], [[Ray Bourque]] and [[Martin Brodeur]]. Also during the movie, after a bad game, Stan takes his Boys into a wooded location and nearly gets them lost in the area.
==Television series==
A spin-off TV series titled ''Les Boys: La série'' debuted on October 1, 2007 on [[Ici Radio-Canada Télé|Télévision de Radio-Canada]]. Most of the regulars have returned to reprise their original roles, including [[Rémy Girard]], [[Marc Messier]], Paul Houde, Michel Charette, Yvan Ponton, Patrick Labbé and Pierre Lebeau.
A second season debuted in January 2009. Pierre Verville and Patrice Belanger joined ''Les Boys'' as new players. Paul Houde will not be back as the Boys goalie Fernand Rivest, as he is killed off in the season premiere.
The show ran a total of 5 seasons and ended its run in 2012.
==Prequel==
There was also the prequel to the saga called ''il était une fois les Boys'' released in 2013.
==See also==
* [[List of films about ice hockey]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/les_boys/saison3/ Official Radio-Canada website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091500/http://filmreferencelibrary.ca/index.asp?layid=44&csid1=262&navid=87&fid3=555&offset=30 Canadian Film Encyclopedia] [A publication of The Film Reference Library/a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group]
* {{IMDb title|id=0118764|title=Les Boys}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|les_boys}}
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[[Category:1997 films]]
[[Category:Quebec films]]
[[Category:Canadian sports comedy films]]
[[Category:Ici Radio-Canada Télé original programming]]
[[Category:Television shows set in Montreal]]
[[Category:2007 Canadian television series debuts]]
[[Category:2012 Canadian television series endings]]
[[Category:Films scored by Normand Corbeil]]
[[Category:Films shot in Montreal]]
[[Category:Films set in Montreal]]
[[Category:Lionsgate films]]
[[Category:2000s Canadian sitcoms]]
[[Category:2010s Canadian sitcoms]]
[[Category:Canadian ice hockey films]]
[[Category:Ice hockey television series]]
[[Category:French-language Canadian films]]
[[Category:1990s Canadian films]]