Z/Web

Strange film. If you took a number of film genres and put them in a blender and spun them around but forgot to put the lid on some pieces flew out, what you’d have left would be something like this. Part comedy, part drama, part romance, part Paris adventure, part French farce, part crime thriller. The end result? Confusion. The movie uncomfortably jumps from genre to genre, throwing in a psychotic killer periodically, humor, drama, romance, etc. The plot’s about a girl who goes to visit her pregnant sister in Paris. Right as she arrives, her sister’s French husband leaves — permanently. He’s just walked out without an explanation. The French (apparently) think it’s weird that the American woman is bothered by this. They think it’s a little tacky (after all, his wife’s pregnant), but normal. As divorce proceedings start, things get complicated. The woman can’t return to the U.S., because that might look like she’s running away with assets. Then there’s the matter of the family heirloom she brought with her from her parents: it’s a painting that’s been in their family for generations, but now it’s assumed to be part of the estate that should be equally divided between the couple. As attention is focused on the painting, there’s suddenly speculation that it’s an unknown La Tour and worth a fortune. Then there’s the visiting sister: she’s quickly becomes the mistress of one of her in-laws, a wealthy Frenchman. Does she love him? Who knows? How can one know anything in this film? Some films that break genres are awesome because they do exactly that. This doesn’t, however; it’s just nothing. You never know if you’re supposed to laugh, cry, take things seriously, be scared or happy, or what. It’s very strange and uncomfortable. Now it’s not badly done at all, and it is entertaining, and there are parts that are excellent. But the whole just didn’t come together for me. The movie was far too long at two hours: it should have been trimmed to 90 minutes, eliminated a few of the silly, superfluous plotlines, and focus on whatever kind of movie it’s suppsed to be (light comedy, drama, whatever). Then it would have been an awesome treat. As it is it’s okay, but not great. It waters itself down.