After a web series started in 2012, Julien Royal (son of François Hollande and Ségolène Royal), offers the continuation of Cokeman's adventures in a long format. By the way, "carrots are cooked" is available on Netflix since Wednesday, February 10, 2021. On the casting side, the film sees the return of Hedi Bouchenafa and Nassim Lyes in the two main roles. The rest of the cast includes Fred Testot, Vincent Desagnat, Hakim Jemili, Julien Courbey and Jonathan Lambert. In short, a team of the future to offer a new lap of the track to the team of En passant pecho.
Passing pecho: the return of Cokeman
On March 23, 2012, Julien Royal released a video that instantly made the buzz: " En passant pécho" episode 1: Is the ball movie a drug? The tone is set, and the video now has almost 4 million views. Seven episodes later, and many off-topic videos, Julien Royal is back at En passant pécho. This time, in a long format. Propelled by Netflix, the filmmaker derives his concept on the big screen and recalls Hedi Bouchenafa and Nassim Lyes to reprise the roles of Hedi and Cokeman. 
The feature film fits perfectly into the continuity of the web series. The director takes up certain valves, certain situations, to send fans of the first hour back to their old nostalgic memories. The joke about Jafar is back, but this time reworked, for another dynamic. Cokeman is still extravagant, of a madness never before reached, a steamroller that nothing seems to be able to stop. After dressing up as Boo, the protagonist launches into cosplays again, this time to pay tribute to the Ninja Turtles. In short, the bugger, always carried by the strength of Nassim Lyes, has not lost his greatness, quite the contrary. But Julien Royal also has the intelligence to try to address an audience that does not know him. And who, above all, does not know what the identity of En passant pécho really is. The filmmaker therefore introduces a whole new range of characters, all colorful, to avoid falling too much into private joke or fan service and leaving the general public on the sidelines. We also regret the absences of Quibron and Tintin, emblematic characters of the series. Their omission is a rather consequent lack. But it's hard to know if this desire to open up to another audience will really work…
A certain awkwardness
But hey, Cokeman alone ensures the show. Julien Royal rewrites his character with a madness sometimes exhausting but which suits perfectly the representation of this figure of the net. The actor takes his ease in a longer format. After a somewhat timid beginning, he ended up carrying the work on his shoulders. Nassim Lyes does not hesitate to reserve his personal quarter of an hour. An egocentric trip that places Cokeman, impregnable in the face of a horde of police overwhelmed by his abilities that exceed understanding. 
By the way, pecho is far from perfect. The film is often awkward, sometimes shy and usually very uneven. The fault is a sequence of situations that lacks creativity. En passant pécho is often a succession of sketches put end to end, not necessarily serving a plot, which often sounds like a simple pretext for the return of Cokeman. This inability to think outside the box reduces the scope of the film, which is more like a bonus episode, than a real feature film in its own right. But it is also this inexperience that gives a certain charm to Julien Royal's film.
Julien Royal understood how stoner movies work
In any case, Julien Royal has understood (and has understood for a long time) how a stoner movie works. A very rare genre in French cinema, the stoner movie (or film of smokers of joints) is an art in its own right. Whether it's Las Vegas Parano or The Big Lebowski, to name only the best, you have to know how to approach this type of film with a certain verve and originality. How to find the right balance between stupidity and inventiveness, between having fun and taking the viewer with either. And Julien Royal does not dishonor the genre. Quite the opposite. 
It perfectly fulfills the specifications, offering totally offbeat characters, beautiful discussions of fonsdés, and situations totally rooted in the heritage of the genre. The director goes to the end of his delirium. He makes no concessions, even presenting a playful action sequence that proves the freedom of this kind of production. Cokeman against an army of cops, in a rather dynamic choreography that sometimes recalls the recent Nicky Larson. It's hard to do more (voluntarily) stupid than that. Julien Royal even goes so far as to break the fourth wall, for no real reason, thus offering a certain generosity of writing. In any case, the filmmaker has the firm will to offer a delirious work, a true stoner tribute. By the way, pecho can also count on solid secondary characters. Fred Testot pulls out of the game, especially the time of a hilarious sequence, where the actor takes the game of self-mockery. A meta scene, where he grumbles about appearing in "this", that he does not understand anything about the film, but that his agent suggested to him that "it would be good for your career". And it's frankly very funny. Note also the remarkable appearances of Jonathan Lambert as a salesman in a sex shop or Kemar as a customs officer. In short, without being the film of the century, En passant pécho is a solid entertainment, which will delight fans of the web series, but may leave neophytes on the side of the road. https://youtu.be/vHTr85ccYlU Pretty cool By the way. Julien Royal surfs on what made the success of the web series. Cokeman is in great shape, some supporting roles stand out, the references are pleasant. And even if it's uneven and sometimes awkward, it's an undisguised guilty pleasure.
