The womanly charms of Isabelle Huppert
Released in 1983, "My Best Friend's Girl" is a French film about two best friends at a ski resort in the French Alps. The friends are Micky (Coluche), an average-looking nightclub DJ, and Pascal (Thierry Lhermitte), the tall/handsome dude who owns the resort. Pascal falls in love-at-first-sight with a woman, Vivian (Isabelle Huppert) and immediately has her move-in with him. Micky objects but finds himself falling for her as well. Will Micky betray his best friend by messing with his girl?
As an early-80s romcom, "My Best Friend's Girl" is much different than an American romcom from the same period. Most North Americans wouldn't like it because it's curious by comparison, but I found it compelling enough once I got used to its unique tone and the English subtitles, which are sometimes hard to read because they're white and often appear over a white backdrop, like snow.
Speaking of snow, that's one of the main reasons I was interested in checking out this obscure European flick, since it takes place completely at a ski resort and was shot on location in Courchevel, Savoie, France. However, that's solely the backdrop as we never see the protagonists skiing. In fact, the entire film is them babbling back-in-forth as Vivian uses her womanly powers to charm the best friends.
At one point Micky blatantly asks Vivian why she's such a tramp and she responds by saying that she started real young and has no moral hang-ups about being faithful to someone who's just a boyfriend. Personally, I find her promiscuity immoral, but it's clear at one point that she loves someone you wouldn't expect her to love, which reveals character. Moreover, the ending offers hope for positive change. In any case, Huppert is excellent as the alluring Vivian, but she's not curvy enough for my tastes. Regardless, the movie showcases the incredible powers that a woman can wield.
The film runs 99 minutes.
GRADE: B-
As an early-80s romcom, "My Best Friend's Girl" is much different than an American romcom from the same period. Most North Americans wouldn't like it because it's curious by comparison, but I found it compelling enough once I got used to its unique tone and the English subtitles, which are sometimes hard to read because they're white and often appear over a white backdrop, like snow.
Speaking of snow, that's one of the main reasons I was interested in checking out this obscure European flick, since it takes place completely at a ski resort and was shot on location in Courchevel, Savoie, France. However, that's solely the backdrop as we never see the protagonists skiing. In fact, the entire film is them babbling back-in-forth as Vivian uses her womanly powers to charm the best friends.
At one point Micky blatantly asks Vivian why she's such a tramp and she responds by saying that she started real young and has no moral hang-ups about being faithful to someone who's just a boyfriend. Personally, I find her promiscuity immoral, but it's clear at one point that she loves someone you wouldn't expect her to love, which reveals character. Moreover, the ending offers hope for positive change. In any case, Huppert is excellent as the alluring Vivian, but she's not curvy enough for my tastes. Regardless, the movie showcases the incredible powers that a woman can wield.
The film runs 99 minutes.
GRADE: B-
- Wuchakk
- 1. Feb. 2015