FRENCH KISS (1995 - ROMANTIC COMEDY) **** out of *****
(Bicker, bicker, bicker, bicker, fall in love - Frenchie-style...)
CAST: Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline, Timothy Hutton, Jean Reno, Susan Anbeh, Francois Cluzet.
DIRECTOR: Lawrence Kasdan.
WARNING: Some SPOILERS one seriously mismatched Franco-American couple - straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS: Poor Kate (Meg Ryan). She's not exactly having a great week. First, she's missed out on a chance to accompany her Canadian fiancee Charlie (Timothy Hutton) to Paris on a medical conference because of her fear of flying. Second, she's giving up her American citizenship to become a Canadian to prove her love and the process is taking slower than an ADSL connection in 1997. And now, third: Charlie's just called from Paris saying he's met a hot French number named Juliette (Susan Anbeh) - and he's not going to marry Kate now. Guess what Continental, frog leg-eating whore is going to carry the title of Mrs. Jackass now?
Now, ordinarily, most women who get dumped translantically over the phone by a thoughtless asshole such as Charlie would basically fuck his brother as revenge then move on with their lives. Not our dear Kate, though. Flummoxed and blindsided by this development, she quickly gets over her fear of flying and jumps on the next Paree-bound jet to get her man back. Well, actually, she doesn't quite get over her fear. More like suppresses it like a champ. Which means she basically sits in her seat trembling like a leaf caught in a monsoon.
Which delights her seatmate to no end. He is Luc Tessier (Kevin Kline), one of those dashing, sarcastic, humorous French men that only seem to show up on transatlantic flights to tweak brittle chicks who hate to fly. Let's just say that the 7 hour flight from Toronto to France is about as enjoyable for Kate as the cooking process is for your average lobster. At least the crustacean can die secure in the knowledge that someone is going to have a good time gnoshing on his limbs later. Kate doesn't have that privilege.
And to make matters more excruciating, when Luc isn't pirouetting on Kate's last nerves, he is sneaking off to the men's room. Like every ten minutes or so. Now, you'd think Kate would be grateful for these respites from Luc's particularly potent Gallic form of, um, charm. But, no: she gives him hell about it each time. Tit for tat, I guess. Personally, I was starting to suspect that Luc was jacking off in the loo in a clear misunderstanding of the precepts of the "Mile High Club". Luc, dude, you have to have someone else in there with you to qualify. Your orgasms should not be self-induced. Take it from a lifetime club member. Ahem.
Anyhow, the fun continues in Paris, where Luc proceeds to follow around Kate like a stray dog looking for a leg to pee on. To further complicate things, Kate gets her belongings and passport stolen by a local con artist (Francois Cluzet) because she's about as street smart as a half-eaten apple. The con artist was probably slapping his thighs with disbelief at how a breeze it was going to be to clean out Kate - kind of like shooting sardines in a can. Fortunately, Luc catches up to her to help track down Charlie and prevent her from turning into Liam Neeson's daughter in TAKEN. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the kidnappers released Kate back onto the street after just two minutes in captivity. They'd have a greater chance of placating a hornet's nest.
Luc eventually makes a deal with Kate to help her win back Charlie. Soon he and Kate are traveling from Paris to Luberon, where Luc and his wine-making clan lives. Yes, folks, the mind reels at the thought of more people like Luc, but they actually seem normal in comparison. Then from there, it is on to Cannes, where Charlie and his French tart Juliette have decided to tan their asses. Being the scoundrel that he is, Luc hatches a ploy for Kate to snag Charlie - and put Juliette out to pasture. Or at least onto Luc's face.
But what is Luc in it for? Besides Juliette's twat, that is? Does it have something to do with the mysterious plant he smuggled into France? Is it true that he plans to start a vineyard with it and quit the low life? Or does he have something else up his sleeve? If so, what is it? Is this why he's being chased by a Paris cop named Jean-Paul (Jean Reno)? Will Jean-Paul catch up to Luc? And what happens when Kate finds herself falling for this goofy Frenchman? Will he return her feelings? Or will he hide them and urge to get back together with Charlie? Does Charlie even deserve a second chance with Kate? Should he? Or should Kate start learning French?
Girl, just dump both of them and jump on that next plane to Italy and find yourself an Italian Stallion. That's what I did. Trust me - you'll love it.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: In our review for MONTE CARLO (review # 413), we talked about films that are fluffy and fun but also have some surprising depth and melancholy to them. Unfortunately, they are written off as frivolous simply because most folks can't see past the surface fluff. We highly rated MONTE CARLO because of its fluid and deft ability to balance light comedy and romance with surprisingly dimensional characters and deeper threads. It's a formula that goes as far back as the screwball comedies of the 30's and 40's to later hits like PRETTY WOMAN, WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING, THE UGLY TRUTH, JUST GO WITH IT, and SLIDING DOORS.
FRENCH KISS is cut from the same cloth as the above films but, like MONTE CARLO and the upcoming THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, has been transferred to a glamorous and exotically foreign setting. Essentially FRENCH KISS has the same basic premise that would later be used by both THE UGLY TRUTH and JUST GO WITH IT: two mismatched, bickering characters conspire to help one of them achieve an elusive love interest - only to end up falling in love with each other. The formula is tried-and-true and could easily become stale with thin characters or unskilled performers.
Fortunately, Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline are deft comedians who are also good actors. They know to not only deliver comic lines, but also how to load gestures and words with subtext and emotion. It's crucial that Kate and Luc be more than just your average Xenophobic, high-maintenance American, or your basic boorish, brash Frenchman. We have to see them as multi-dimensional human beings. Writer/director Lawrence Kasdan skillfully limns both characters and gives each of them a satisfying arc that goes from enemies, to frenemies, to friends, then finally to lovers. Both Ryan and Kline run with their characters.
Kline is especially hilarious as Luc, giving him a certain goofball air mixed with genuine sexiness. The part where Luc tells Kate about his ass "twitches" whenever he hears people talking about how happy they are, and how Kate imitates and mocks him later on, is pure comic gold. Ryan herself also proves to be a much more interesting presence here. I couldn't stand her in SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, because she was playing such a bubble-headed ditz. In FRENCH KISS, she is much more intelligent and edgy. There are those who might question why Kate would travel all the way to Paris to find a man who broke her heart, and I would tend to agree with you - at first. But when you really think about it, Kate's actions are rooted in human reality: if you were blindsided by an inexplicable act of cruelty, wouldn't you have the right to know why? Ryan sells the character because she doesn't peddle her usual "cheery ditz" schpiel. Instead, she gives a full-blooded woman who is as strong as she is flawed.
The true test to Kate and Luc's relationship is a key plot point towards the end of the film. If you don't want to be spoiled, stop reading now.... So, here it goes: instead of selling to Cartier the necklace that Luc stole, Kate secretly turns it in to his cop friend Jean-Paul (Jean Reno) to prevent him from being arrested. But Luc still expects the money from the "sale" of the necklace to help him start his vineyard. Kate basically takes all of her life savings and has Cartier issue a check with their name on it to make Luc think the money was from them - but it's really from Kate. He has no idea how she saved him from jail, or that the money he thinks is from the jewelry store is actually her nest egg. Essentially, she makes a sacrifice for him - even knowing she will probably never see him again, nor will he ever find out the money was from her. If the roles of Luc and Kate, were played by anyone else than Ryan or Kline, we may not have bought into this act of genuine love and sacrifice. But because they've done such a great job of reeling us into Luc and Kate's journey, we believe it.
As Charlie, the reprehensible schmuck that callously broke Kate's heart, Hutton tries to invest some shadings into what is essentially a vain, narcissistic scoundrel who is obviously used to being the center of female attention - even though there really isn't much below the superficial surface handsomeness to justify (or sustain) that attention. Hutton is such a good actor (he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for ORDINARY PEOPLE in 1980) that he manages to give Charlie some nuance, but in the end the character is still a hissable lout. Kate deserves way better than him, and there is a very telling moment where Luc watches Charlie and Juliette flirting, and he simply shakes his head and says, "that's not true love." One wonders how long before Charlie's eye would wander to the next beautiful woman - and leave Juliette in the same way he did Kate. That is, if Juliette doesn't lose interest in him first - which is much more likely since there isn't much to Charlie under his good looks.
Jean Reno and Susan Anbeh are equally fine as, respectively: (1) Jean-Paul, Luc's close friend who happens to be a cop; and (2) Juliette, the French temptress who gets exactly what she deserves: Charlie. Reno, in particular, has a nice brotherly chemistry with Kline. As a cop trying to keep his friend out of trouble while also trying to do his job, Jean-Paul plays a game of cat-and-mouse with Luc, balancing friendship with duty. There's a nice scene between them at the end, after Kate has left, where Jean-Paul tells Luc the act of sacrifice she made for him that would have otherwise gone unknown. It's a great scene, and one you wouldn't expect to find in a "fluffy" romantic comedy. Then again, there's much more to FRENCH KISS than meets the eye.
In the end, FRENCH KISS hews closely to the Romantic Comedy formula - while also subverting it. Proving again that the first step to bending the rules is to follow them and learn them well enough - then deviate from the formula. FRENCH KISS does that very well.
In closing, please absorb a snippet of James Newton Howard's lovely score for FRENCH KISS. This track is titled "I Want You" - and is Luc and Kate's theme. The best part is between 0:41 and 1:00. Beautiful music that gives FRENCH KISS added depth and surprising poignancy....
