Review by John P. Harvey.

With a lifetime of unfulfilled fantasies of travel and no income to speak of, Yann (Hakim Jemili) is astonished to learn that the travel guide Globetrotter’s publisher, Globetrotter, actually pays people to travel. He therefore seizes an opportunity to impress Globetrotter’s boss, Karol (Christian Klavier), by lying through his teeth about the range of his travel experience.

Thus does a probational role come Yann’s way to sample various accommodation and food options in Marrakech, Morocco — with a warning not to reveal to anybody his connection with Globetrotter.

With a whole new world of opportunities opening up to him, though, Yann sees no problem in discreetly revealing to his test subjects just what he’s doing in Marrakech, with unexpected consequences.

Assigned by Karol to check out whether complaints against local tour guide Sofia (Manon Azem) for rudeness are justified, Yann finds that said tour guide is a very straight talker who brooks no nonsense; his revelation of working for Globetrotter, designed to impress her into accepting an invitation to dinner, backfires badly.

When Yann reveals the same secret to the local street-food vendors and restaurateurs, though, he is overwhelmed with generous samples of their crafts. In fact, so overwhelmed is he that his spectacularly foolish reaction brings him to the unpleasant attention of police Inspecteur Slimane (Youssef Hajdi).

Inexplicably, Silmane doesn’t readily take to foreigners who create havoc in his streets.

But Sofia the straight-talking tour guide is also a dedicated archeological assistant on the track of a priceless artefact. She’ll need to steal it from unscrupulous archaeologist Dr Robert Charoux (Michel Blanc). And the dinner invitation she’d earlier rejected leads her to realise that Yann may be able to help her on her mission.

Yann is finally going to do something significant in his life, even if he doesn’t know it.

The Rookie Guide spins a good yarn by employing a quirky mix of consequences, both predictable and unpredictable, of aspects of its lead characters’ natures: Yann’s duplicity; the extremes to which Sofia is prepared to go in order to steal the artefact from Charoux; the mismatch of Caroux’s bodyguards with each other and their job. These consequences include lively action and chase scenes — including, naturally, a heartwarming explosion — and many funny moments. As well, despite his flaws at the story’s beginning, Yann builds character as he faces the upsets he has caused and others’ need for him to make decisions with integrity.

But this is not a movie to take at all seriously; it’s just a joyride that writer–director Philippe Mechelen has well under control, with action and implication carrying the story along very well, snappy dialogue adding to its surprises, and a very listenable upbeat soundtrack providing extra bounce all the way through.

Screening at Palace cinemas.