I'm no great fan of Sophie Marceau but I thought I'd go and see this anyway for a laugh. She herself was quite good surprisingly, less of a brat and stuck-up than in certain previous films.
Picture quality of the film fairly sharp but colours washed-out and awful - incredibly bad for 2003 ! The story itself gets off to a good start with some funny moments. Vincent Perez as the obnoxious and self-centred husband working for an international construction firm, having affairs, hell-bent on cycling and Jacques Brel and in the process thoroughly neglecting his wife, puts in a convincing performance and Marceau as his devoted wife as well. Enter Charles Berling who becomes Marceau's "lover" ( the word is perhaps a little strong ) ... and then the whole thing falls apart. It's as if, having found a good idea for the story, the scriptwriter wasn't really convinced of the best way to finish the whole thing off. The lover becomes the husband's best friend and even gets attracted to some of the activities of the husband - those same activities ( eg cycling ) which initially caused Marceau to get fed up with her husband and turn elsewhere !!
All this is a bit of a shame as the film "démarre sur des chapeaux de roues" ( gets off to a flying start) but then seems to fumble when it's a question of tying the plot up in the latter half. Apart from this, it's quite pleasant to watch, there's a lot of music by Jacques Brel, and cycling views. But I find it below the level of French Comedy Movies from the sixties, seventies and early eighties ( Coluche et Cie !). It has just come out this week in France and I can't yet make up my mind whether it will have international success ....... I remain a little dubious and will later consult other comments on the data base.
Picture quality of the film fairly sharp but colours washed-out and awful - incredibly bad for 2003 ! The story itself gets off to a good start with some funny moments. Vincent Perez as the obnoxious and self-centred husband working for an international construction firm, having affairs, hell-bent on cycling and Jacques Brel and in the process thoroughly neglecting his wife, puts in a convincing performance and Marceau as his devoted wife as well. Enter Charles Berling who becomes Marceau's "lover" ( the word is perhaps a little strong ) ... and then the whole thing falls apart. It's as if, having found a good idea for the story, the scriptwriter wasn't really convinced of the best way to finish the whole thing off. The lover becomes the husband's best friend and even gets attracted to some of the activities of the husband - those same activities ( eg cycling ) which initially caused Marceau to get fed up with her husband and turn elsewhere !!
All this is a bit of a shame as the film "démarre sur des chapeaux de roues" ( gets off to a flying start) but then seems to fumble when it's a question of tying the plot up in the latter half. Apart from this, it's quite pleasant to watch, there's a lot of music by Jacques Brel, and cycling views. But I find it below the level of French Comedy Movies from the sixties, seventies and early eighties ( Coluche et Cie !). It has just come out this week in France and I can't yet make up my mind whether it will have international success ....... I remain a little dubious and will later consult other comments on the data base.