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French Kiss starring Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline

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French Kiss starring Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline, Timothy Hutton, Jean Reno and Susan Anbeh
French Kiss starring Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline, Timothy Hutton, Jean Reno and Susan Anbeh. Image:farm4.static.flickr.com

American Kate (Meg Ryan) is living in Canada with her fiancé Charlie (Timothy Hutton). And as far as she is concerned, life is bliss: she is closer to Charlie’s parents than Charlie is, is about to be a Canadian citizen and she is finally able to afford the house of their dreams. Even though Charlie is a bit freaked, he seems happy and content enough…until he goes to Paris for a work event. Kate needs to stay in the country because of the immigration process and she is afraid to death of flying anyway…

However, one day she gets a phone call from Charlie that changes her life forever. He tells her that he has fallen in love with a French woman and is not coming back. Kate gets on the next plane. She just has to go to France and take Charlie back. She ends up sitting next to a French guy named Luc (Kevin Kline), who just provides a distraction for her to survive the flight. However, Luc really needs to get an item through the customs and uses Kate for it, without her knowing of course.

But it is not long before Luc loses Kate, Kate’s bags are stolen, the French police are after Luc- who is after Kate who tries to survive in Paris until she can persuade Charlie to come back…Of course many funny scenes, confusion and romantic feelings follow. Can Kate take Charlie back with Luc’s help? Or will she even want Charlie after spending all that time with Luc?

French Kiss is a really entertaining, funny and romantic film, mostly set in France. It co-stars Jean Reno as the friendly cop who owes Luc a favor and Charlie’s French goddess Juliette is played by Suzan Anbeh, an actress half-French and half-Iranian.

Admittedly, I hadn’t loved this film so much when I saw it years ago. But back then, I hadn’t been to France, met French guys, listened to many French accents, wasn’t a fan of the cast except Meg Ryan. But years later, after having done all that, and having followed the work of Timothy Hutton, Kevin Kline and Jean Reno, and well, having experience the French culture many times, I just had a blast with.  I believe French Kiss to be a guy-friendly romcom. Yeah sure, you can make all the usual complaints: “I knew the ending from the get-go” (yeah, so did everybody else),” it was predictable”,” would have been more original if Luc ended up with Juliette….” . So? This might be a typical romantic comedy with some fun criminal aspects involved, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is spot on with so many jokes and it is just an overall charming and entertaining movie. Oh yes, Kate  is pretty much the same gal Meg Ryan always plays but some actors do have a trademark: Sylvester has been cashing on all these years: Meg Ryan is the romcom princess and he uses the muscles. They don’t really make movies to shatter the earth, they make money and entertain by using money-making clichés.

Now, it is also fun to note that this is not the only movie where Timothy Hutton’s character wants to leave Meg Ryan’s for another woman- in 2009’s Serious Moonlight, he wants to leave their long-term marriage but suffers a totally unexpected faith. This is also not the only romcom where Meg Ryan goes by the name of Kate. She played Kate in Kate and Leopold, opposite Hugh Jackman.

You have got the clichés and the stereotypes but you also have a hilarious performance from Kevin Kline,  Timothy Hutton as your scumbag, Jean Reno for an inspector and a lovely, natural Meg Ryan. And this is pretty much all I wanted from this 1995 “chick flick”, which happens to be written by a guy (Adam Brooks) and directed by another guy (Lawrence Kasdan).  Just enjoy yourself. 6.1 on IMDB, 7/10 from me.

  • Fun note: In 2007,Meg Ryan starred in In The Land of Women, a romantic drama written and directed by Jon Kasdan, son of director Lawrence Kasdan.

Other Posts on Timothy Hutton

Ordinary People starring Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch

Serious Moonlight starring Timothy Hutton and Meg Ryan

Taps starring Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise and Sean Penn

Leverage TV Series starring Timothy Hutton

The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. Feat. Timothy Hutton

The Good Shepherd starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. Feat. Timothy Hutton

Other Posts on Meg Ryan

You’ve Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan

City of Angels starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan

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Serious Moonlight starring Timothy Hutton and Meg Ryan

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Serious Moonlight starring Timothy Hutton, Meg Ryan, Justin Long and Kristen Bell
Serious Moonlight starring Timothy Hutton, Meg Ryan, Justin Long and Kristen Bell. Image via arti24.com

Ian (Timothy Hutton) is cheating on Louise (Meg Ryan) – his wife of 13 years with the younger Sara (Kristen Bell).He has planned to spend some romantic time at his and Louise’s summer house with Sara before they go to Paris together.

Louise is a busy and accomplished lawyer but unaware of Ian’s affair, she comes to the summer house early to surprise him. When he unwillingly confronts her, she gets upset and demands to talk things through. Ian, however, can’t wait to leave her for good. When he doesn’t want to talk it over, Louise gets mad and knocks him out. Ian wakes up, duct-taped to a chair. Louise wants Ian to think things over and she seems to think that this might actually help them save their marriage. This pisses Ian off and he tries anything to set free.

Louise does her best trying to remind him of the good times and how much they loved each other. She even manages to send Sarah away quickly after she arrives – telling her that Ian has agreed to spend one last night with her, going through the details of break-up.

Just when Ian thinks things couldn’t get any worse, he is proven wrong when Louise goes to town for shopping. The lawnmower guy (Justin Long) arrives and realizes that he has the perfect opportunity to rob the house. The only guy resident is duct-taped to a chair!

So of course by the time Louise arrives and shares the same faith with her husband, Ian has already realized that spending a couple more minutes with Louise may not be the worst thing that can happen to him. In fact, afraid for both their lives, it is beginning to seem like the only thing that matters. But will the guy let them go? Will he rape Louise? And he doesn’t seem to be in a rush to leave the house.. And what the hell will Sara do when Ian doesn’t meet her at the airport?

This is one crazy and sweet little romantic comedy, with the comedy and crazy parts being more dominant. The crime comedy parts with Justin Long are also fun. It is not exactly hilarious but it is really entertaining. I can say that guys can enjoy this one too, although I suspect women will have a little more fun with what Louise does to her cheating husband. Maybe it is not the most likely of scenarios but there is no reason it couldn’t happen either.

I read one user review that said the characters aren’t likable. I beg to differ. While Ian doesn’t exactly come off as a sweetheart, he is representing a big group of men who feel stuck in their marriages and decide they can be happier with a much younger girlfriend. And while what Louise does is a little wacky, I can’t promise I would be nice to my cheating husband either. While I may not go overboard with duct tapes and everything, I am likely to punch him in the face and kick him in the groins as hard as I can. So it is not that hard to like or at least feel a little sympathy for Louise- Ian has been her best friend and husband for 13 years, and there is a history behind it.

But boys and romcom haters, worry not! This is not typical. It has pretty funny situations and the story is more concerned about entertaining you than focusing on who Ian will end up with.

Funnily enough, this is the second time Kristen Bell plays a bitchy character with a name that sounds like Sara. Remember Forgetting Sarah Marshall?

It is fun. And it is a must see for any Timothy Hutton fan as you get to see a lot of him. As always, his performance is good and he sis at his best when his character gets emotional. And it is always fun watching Meg Ryan, Kristen Bell and Justin Long in comedies.

Warning: Cheating husbands may not enjoy this film.

Unfortunate trivia: Writer Adrienne Shelly was murdered in 2006. Directed by Cheryl Hines.

5.4/10 on IMDB

 7/10 from me. They would have been better of, had they not given too many clues about the ending. Still, it is so much fun.

Other Posts feat. Timothy Hutton

Taps starring Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise and Sean Penn

Leverage TV Series starring Timothy Hutton

The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. Feat. Timothy Hutton

The Good Shepherd starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. Feat. Timothy Hutton

Posts featuring Meg Ryan

You’ve Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan

City of Angels starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan

Posts feat. Kristen Bell

Couples Retreat starring Vince Vaugh, Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, Jon Favreau…

Forgetting Sarah Marshall starring Jason Segel, Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Russell Brand

33 Actors From My Generation- Actors Born Between 1980&1990

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Cake starring Heather Graham, David Sutcliffe and Taye Diggs

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Cake starring Heather Graham, David Sutcliffe and Taye Diggs
Cake starring Heather Graham, David Sutcliffe and Taye Diggs. Made in 2005. Image via divxplanet.com

Pippa Mcgee (Heather Graham) is a beautiful, free-spirited, fun-loving and committed-phobic girl. She makes a living as a freelance travel writer and loves her fun and responsibility free life. She absolutely hates the pink bridesmaid dress she has to wear. She doesn’t enjoy weddings either. And it is at this wedding that she meets a handsome stranger, Ian (David Sutcliffe). But to her surprise and disappointed, this cute and witty guy doesn’t really want to make out with a drunk girl who won’t really remember anything in the morning. Trust Pippa to find the one decent and old-fashioned guy around.

Bu?t Pippa’s carefree life takes a blow when her father Malcolm (Bruce Gray) has a heart-attack. Since he has to rest for a long while, he leaves it to Pippa to run his bridal magazine. Pippa involuntarily agrees and tries to adjust to the idea that she will have to be tuned in on anything bridal. But she is in for a surprise, when that handsome stranger- Ian- turns out to be a trusted employee of her father and he is willing to stick around and help her out. Pippa now has to deal with faltering sales, men who want to take over the magazine, her romance with the handsome photographer Hemingway Jones (Taye Tiggs) and her hard to define attraction for Ian…

Cake is a fun romantic comedy that has two potential romances going for it. Pippa first meets David Sutcliffe’s Ian and then Taye Diggs’ Hemingway. But it is pretty apparent she has a lot in common with Hemingway, so he starts dating him. But then again maybe opposites do attract and she and Ian are not exactly opposites after all. Of course you can guess who she will end up with. Of course you know things will work out for Pippa one way or the other. The reason to watch romcoms- especially the conventional ones- is just to see how the ride goes, not how it ends. That being said, this is a romantic comedy for girls. Yes, a guy who is a fan of the genre can enjoy it and Heather Graham is gorgeous. But other than that, I can honestly say most guys won’t really enjoy the plot.

Sandra Oh co-stars as Pippa’s best friend and it is refreshing to see her in a role other than Grey’s Anatomy’s Christina.

Written by Tassie Cameron and directed by Nisha Ganatra. Ignore the imdb rating if you like a decent romcom. It is 4.8 I’ll give it a 6, minimum.

For guy-friendly romantic comedies, you can check out:

The Invention of Lying starring Ricky Gervais

Ghost Town starring Ricky Gervais and Téa Leoni

Forgetting Sarah Marshall starring Jason Segel, Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Russell Brand

What Women Want starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt

Yes Man starring Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel

500 Days of Summer starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel

Shallow Hal starring Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow


And three more fun movies with romance, comedy and action:

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40 Days and 40 Nights starring Josh Hartnett and Shannyn Sossamon

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40 Days and 40 Nights starring Josh Hartnett and Shannyn Sossamon
40 Days and 40 Nights starring Josh Hartnett and Shannyn Sossamon. Image via onlinefilmler.net

Matt Sullivan’s (Josh Hartnett) girlfriend Nicole (Vinessa Shaw) has left him 6 months ago but he is still not over her. Sure, he is having sex with the attractive women he meets but as he comes to realize, sex has stopped being fun for him. He doesn’t really feel anything, despite being on the verge of having panic attacks during it.

One day, through an encounter with a priest, he gets a “bright” idea: He will not have sex for 40 days. Not only that, but he will stay away from any sex-related activity (doing it himself included), foreplay, kisses, holding hands, touching….He will use these 40 days to fully cleanse himself.

But almost as soon as he starts, he meets a beautiful, laid-back and fun girl named Erica (Shannyn Sossamon- A Knight’s Tale, Moonlight). He can’t stay away from her so he at least tries his hand at being friends. But of course by this time, his friends have set up a webpage about his “mission” and ridiculous amounts of bets are being placed on when he just might explode.

Erica is furious at finding out but given that she is really into Matt, she tries the friends thing too. The problem is –since there is money at stake for others- they just might go out of their way to seduce Matt. So can Matt succeed his mission, say no to temptation and manage not to screw things up with Erica all at once? After all, there is only so much one man is capable of…

40 Days and 40 Nights is a romantic comedy that is as unisex as it goes. If anything, guys might enjoy it even more. Sure, everything concerning Erica is sensual and well romantic but as a girl, you can’t really care about Matt’s problem. It is not a reason not to have a couple of laughs, pitying Matt. It might also very well be the only movie where the guy fakes an orgasm so that he can get it over with. This does get originality points.

Favorite Scene: The very final scene. No, not because the movie is finally over. Because it is ridiculous but also funny. Co-starring is Paul Costanzo as Matt’s best friend, who you might remember from the Friends’ spinoff Joey. He played Joey Tribianni’s nephew.

This is not the funniest romcom out there. Or the most romantic. Its 5.4 IMDB rating seems about fair, as it is only just a bit of fun.  But since not many romcoms are focusing on “real male issues”, it might be a good date film. Although guys may not really feel sorry for Matt at all either…5/10 from me. Still, I will take this one over the extremely predictable, clichéd and boring Pearl Harbor anyday (which is another Josh Hartnett movie, also rated at 5.4).

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