Opening Day: 26 August 2010

Synopsis:

Alex (Duris) and his sister break up couples for a living. From Morocco to Monaco to Paris, no location is too far and no challenge is too great. With a 100% success rate, they’re at the top of their game. However immoral their profession may seem, there are some rules that render it quite honorable:

Rule 1: Never break up a happy couple.

Rule 2: No falling in love.

When a wealthy man hires them to break up his daughter and her boyfriend, the rules start to bend. After a thorough investigation, there is no doubt that they are the perfect couple. Money problems, however, cause them to take on the job (violation of rule #1). After a couple of days with Juliette (Paradis), even Alex, the most professional of professionals can’t resist her allure (violation of rule #2). It’s looking like the agency’s reputation is at stake, and for the first time ever, the heartbreaker risks being the victim of a broken heart!

Movie Review:

It’s just too bad that the reviewer for this romantic comedy isn’t of the female species. It’s also just too bad that this male reviewer isn’t half as good looking as the movie’s male lead Romain Duris. Of course, it doesn’t help that this reviewer isn’t exactly a die hard romantic, which is why an impossible premise like that doesn’t exactly excite him.

Sure, marketing collaterals also tell him that this movie is a hit at the France box office, but it only means that there’s something in most of us (or at least, the French) that wishes for a fairy tale like that to happen in real life.

The movie’s protagonist is Alex, who operates a business with his sister and his sister in law to break couples up. The only moralistic part about this business? The woman has to be “unknowingly unhappy” before the charming Alex makes his move. His latest assignment is to break up a rich man’s daughter and her British fiancé. How will our suave hero accomplish his task in one week, and when the couple seems to be blissfully in love with each other seven days away from their wedding?

When you are heavily in debt, you better make the impossible possible. Or at least, you can be sure everything will turn out well in a crowd pleasing movie like this.

In 105 minutes, you will be transported to a world where there is little to worry about love, because everything seems to fall nicely into place at the end of the day. It sure helps that the movie moves along at a breezy pace which makes the otherwise predictable plot easy to sit through. It is sprinkled with good natured humour which all romantic comedies are obliged to contain. While the setups aren’t anything refreshing, they do make for an enjoyable evening out at the movies with your other half.

Besides, who doesn’t enjoy picturesque backdrops with equally beautiful people in the foreground?

Duris (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Moliere) plays the titular heartbreaker with so much charm and charisma that one can only imagine that if there is really such a person in real life, it would be a sin for any female not to fall in love with him. And as for the female protagonist, Vanessa Paradis (you may want to know her as Johnny Depp’s partner – the lucky girl) portrays a girl who is torn about what she really wants in life at the altar. While this personality isn’t exactly a breath of fresh air by today’s cinema standards, Paradis does a decent job in delivering an empathetic performance which conveys loss and confusion. The supporting cast does a fine job too, from the comedic pairing of Julie Ferrier and Francois Damiens to the menacing Jacques Frantz. There is much chemistry among the cast members, and the movie sparkles because of this.

Being a French production, there is lots you can expect from it. The elegance and style from the French easily gives it a chic feel which you won’t find in Hollywood equivalents. But knowing the Americans, they have already bought the US remake rights to produce the Hollywood version, thanks to its phenomenal box office success at home. So who would we be seeing in the role of the deliciously appealing male protagonist? Forgive this bitter reviewer while he goes through his list of “Must Hate Hollywood Heartthrobs”.

Movie Rating:



(A predictable but enjoyable romantic comedy which breezes its way through 105 minutes)

Review by John Li