Love hasn’t been this funny in years. One of the best recent movies that never made it to most big screens, French Film, sets an unraveling long-term relationship against the espresso-fueled philosophy of a respected French art house auteur from the ‘80s in a concept reminiscent of Woody Allen at the height of his comedic powers.
Jed (Hugh Bonneville) is a London writer assigned to interview the great director Grimandi (Eric Cantona). As life with his girlfriend Cheryl (Victoria Hamilton) hits the curbs, the curmudgeonly Jed fumes as he works his way through a documentary featuring Grimandi holding forth from his book-filled Paris apartment on life, love and women. “Love is like a movie,” the auteur insists. “You should always see the ending within the first 15 minutes.” Although royally annoyed, Jed finds Grimandi’s ideas sticking to memory. “He’s like Euro-pop,” he complains to his mate.
Written by Aschlin Ditta and directed by Jackie Oudney, French Film works as an amusing cultural send-up. The emotionally clueless English take a gentle wacking along with their too-cool-for-words Gallic cousins. A comedy of smart dialogue and witty situations, French Film ripples with sophisticated, low-key hilarity until FIN fills the final screen.
