Is French comedy 'Micmacs' amusing? Oui

It's fitting that Jean-Pierre Jeunet's oddball comedy, "Micmacs," is expanding to additional theaters just as "Toy Story 3" makes its debut. Jeunet ("Amelie") has been upfront about the influence of Pixar - particularly the original "Toy Story" - on his current film. Both include quirky characters and inventive gadgetry, but the live-action French movie probably won't have the broad appeal of the cartoon.

Its premise is a bit dark, for starters. Bazil (French comedian Dany Boon) is a hard-luck case whose father was killed by a mine; Bazil himself has a bullet in his brain that causes seizures. One day, jobless and homeless, he realizes that the weapons companies involved in his misfortunes have headquarters nearby, and he resolves to get even.

Are you laughing yet? You might, though somewhat gently, as "Micmacs" unfolds in a series of Rube Goldberg set pieces (beehive bombs, human cannonballs) and whimsical slapstick (one character, played by Julie Ferrier, is a contortionist who lives in a refrigerator). Boon maintains a terrific Buster Keaton deadpan no matter what manner of nonsense confronts him.

"Micmacs," being French, can't resist a meta-joke: Posters for this movie keep appearing in the very scenes they're advertising. That's funny, though American knees will likely go unslapped. The film, like its title, may be ultimately untranslatable.