Film
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies drops a preposterously self-assured French agent into 1955 Egypt, where he blunders through Cold War intrigue utterly convinced of his own genius, charm and cultural sensitivity — he possesses none of the three. It's a deadpan spy spoof that skewers imperial swagger as much as Bond-movie tropes, delivered with a straight face that makes every awful, oblivious line funnier. Perfect for lovers of comic idiocy with real satirical teeth.
If you liked this
OSS 117: Lost in Rio2009
Same magnificently clueless hero, now loose among Nazi hunters and hippies in 1960s Rio — the jokes land even harder the second time and Dujardin's timing has only sharpened.
But It's more of exactly the same joke, so if the first one didn't win you over, this sequel won't either.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery1997
The other great spy-spoof hero of catastrophic self-confidence — groovier, cruder, but built from the same idiot-who-thinks-he's-Bond engine that powers Hubert.
But Broader, hornier, and far less interested in satire than pure gag-a-minute silliness.

The Pink Panther1963
Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau is the great-grandfather of every bumbling, unshakeable comic hero since, sailing through disaster convinced he's the smoothest man in any room.
But Slower and more genteel than modern comedy pacing, with plot mechanics that feel very much of their era.

The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Battle of Algiers1966
Same French-colonial world OSS 117 mocks — a supremely confident outsider moving through North Africa — but played here with total moral seriousness about what that confidence actually cost.
A landmark of political cinema, shot like a documentary, showing the real machinery of colonial power and resistance that OSS 117's jokes are quietly needling.
But It's unflinching and grim where OSS 117 is frothy — there's no wink here, and no joke coming to rescue you.

More like this (8)
Top Secret!1984
The Zucker brothers' fever-dream spy spoof throws gags at the screen with total disregard for taste or logic, and a shocking number of them stick.
But Some jokes have aged badly, and its scattergun style trades character for sheer absurdist volume.

Johnny English2003no page yet
Rowan Atkinson does his own supremely confident idiot abroad in a plot he barely understands, with the same fondness for physical comedy over cleverness.
But Broader and more kid-friendly, with none of OSS 117's satirical bite about empire or attitude.
Get Smart2008
Steve Carell plays a well-meaning fool let loose among competent spies, delivering solid modern action-comedy with a genuinely sweet core underneath the gags.
But Plays it safer and warmer than OSS 117's cheerfully savage satire of its hero's ego.

Kingsman: The Secret Service2015
A slicker, more violent spin on spy tropes with real style and wit, for anyone who wants the genre send-up dialled up into full action spectacle.
But Leans hard into ultraviolence and swagger rather than the gentler, sillier comic tone OSS 117 traffics in.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!1988
Leslie Nielsen's magnificently oblivious detective is cut from the same cloth as Hubert — utterly convinced of his own competence while chaos erupts around him.
But It's cop comedy, not spy comedy, and the jokes arrive machine-gun fast rather than through character.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.2015
A glossy, funny throwback to sixties Cold War spy glamour, all sharp suits and banter, for anyone who loves the period detail as much as the jokes.
But Plays its comedy far drier and subtler — this is a spy film with jokes, not a spy spoof.

North by Northwest1959
This is the genuine, unironic version of the confident-man-abroad spy thriller OSS 117 is affectionately sending up — swap the winking for sincerity and you get Cary Grant doing it for real.
Hitchcock's glossy, elegant thriller has the wit, exotic backdrops and accidental hero that OSS 117 lovingly parodies — minus the satire, played entirely for real.
But Played dead straight, so if what you loved was the joke, this will feel like watching the target rather than the punchline.

Zoolander2001
Same comic engine as Hubert — a man of towering self-regard and near-total obliviousness sailing through a plot he can't comprehend — just swap Cairo for the catwalk.
Ben Stiller's magnificently vain, dim hero navigates a conspiracy he's the last to notice, with the same gleeful commitment to stupidity played dead straight.
But Trades spy-movie satire for fashion-world absurdity, so the specific pleasure of genre parody is gone.

People
Cast
Jean DujardinHubert Bonisseur de La Bath, alias OSS 117
Bérénice BejoLarmina El Akmar Betouche
Aure AtikaLa princesse Al Tarouk
Philippe LefebvreJack Jefferson
Konstantin AleksandrovSetine
Saïd AmadisLe ministre égyptien
Laurent BateauGardenborough
Claude BrossetLe patron
François DamiensRaymond Pelletier
Youssef HamidL'imam
Khalid MaadourLe suiveur
Arsène MoscaLoktar
Directing
- Jean-Baptiste PouillouxAssistant Director
- Michel HazanaviciusDirector
- Matthew GledhillFirst Assistant Director
- Noureddine AberdineFirst Assistant Director
- Luc BricaultSecond Assistant Director
- Mustapha GrumijSecond Assistant Director
- Sade ZeriffiSecond Assistant Director
- Delphine HeudeThird Assistant Director
- Rachid DohaThird Assistant Director
Writing
- Jean-François HalinAdaptation
- Michel HazanaviciusAdaptation
- Jean BruceNovel
- Jean-François HalinScenario Writer
Production
- Stéphane TouitouCasting
- Eric AltmayerProducer
- Nicolas AltmayerProducer
Recommended by
Kingsman: The Secret Service, Chuck, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.