There are plenty of laughs to be had watching La Chevre, a French film written and directed by Francis Veber. When the very accident-prone 21-year-old daughter of a wealthy industrialist disappears while on vacation in Mexico, Campana, a veteran detective, is dispatched to find her

His search turns up nothing, and a psychologist working for the industrialist suggests they turn the investigation over to Francis Perrin, an accountant in their firm. The reason? Since Perrin is as accident prone as the missing girl, he may bumble his way into some clues.

La Chevre ("The Goat") moves forward with comic verve as Perrin leads Campana into one mishap after another. But each blunder turns up a new clue. Fans of slapstick will appreciate the screen camaraderie and humorous interplay between Pierre Richard as the bumbler and Gerald Depardieu as the rigorously logical detective who at last comes to see the magic in his friend's madness.