French Kiss

A truly funny piece. It's the one we get out of our collection when we just want to sit down and watch something familiar, funny and just NICE.

Meg Ryan reveals herself as a true comedienne and Kevin Kline is the funniest Frenchman you ever loved to hate. So what if we know exactly what's going to happen? That's the way with romantic comedies, as it is with most 'genre' movies. Even after having seen it at least a dozen times, we still laugh when Ryan sneaks up on her absconded fiancee and his new girlfriend and in the process causes major havoc in a posh French cafe; or when Kevin Kline tells her how the uptight nature of the Americans makes his 'ass twitch'.

This is a really cute little romantic comedy. The story revolves around a young history teacher, Kate, who's afraid of flying but forces herself to hop on a plane for Paris to try and win back her fiancé, Charlie, who has dumped her for a gorgeous French woman. However, her seat mate on the plane happens to be a charming French crook named Luc, who uses the unsuspecting Kate to smuggle his stolen diamond necklace for him. Then, casting himself as an expert in affairs of the heart, he resolves to help Kate win back her man, later complicated by the fact that he falls for her himself.

Their adventures across France, from Paris to Cannes, in pursuit of the fiancé and his new girlfriend, make for some pretty amusing scenes. The plot is livened up by the repercussions of Luc's larcenous tricks, little sub-plots with a fellow con artist and a cop who owes him a favour. My sole complaint with this movie is a couple of unnecessary f-words and a fair bit of profanity, especially on Kate's part (taking the Lord's name in vain), reflective of the screenwriters' laziness in avoiding clever dialogue in these scenes.

Meg Ryan is her usual cute, bubbly, rather ditsy self in the role of Kate and Timothy Hutton is suitably obnoxious and despicable as Charlie, the fiancé who dumped her. However, the real star of this film is Kevin Kline, who puts genuine charm into the role of this rakishly endearing thief, Luc, and demonstrates an extremely credible French accent, in my opinion. His entire persona here makes it difficult to believe that Kline isn't really French. He must have had a fantastic language coach! Also, there is great on screen chemistry between Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline.

It's a delightful, light hearted film, a good date movie, and not necessarily just a chick flick as my husband enjoyed it too.

This is an excellent film. I have seen it several times since it's release and never tire of it. Other than the adult theme it would have been suitable for family viewing. Well casted, and a good mix of both romance and comedy. The casual observer may not catch the best part of the movie, it's soundtrack. Kevin Kline does an outstanding vocal rendition of La Mer. Cole Porter, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Van Morrison, and others.. How could one ignore this gem?

To begin with, Meg Ryan's fear of flying and the procedures she goes through to deal with it are cute. And the relationship with Meg and Timothy Hutton is entirely believable.

Once she is on the plane, going to Paris, Kevin Kline appears and introduces himself and distracts her from the takeoff. Kevin Kline really proves himself in this movie, or at least shows how good he is at accents. I was a French major in college and have been to Paris and seen much of France. His mannerisms are right on.

The things that happen once they are in Paris are 1) funny and 2) move the story along. The train trip that they have to take is another enjoyable section. And Meg learns that she really likes the cheese!

Once she sees the vineyard and begins to learn more about Kevin Kline's character, the story gets under way nicely. All in all, it's a very enjoyable time.

This was one of the best comedies of the 1990s - with While You Were Sleeping, There's Something about Mary, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Flirting with Disaster, perhaps When Harry Met Sally or Sleepless in Seattle.

It's a charming movie. I'm not particularly a Meg Ryan fan - (funny that I just named two of her movies in a top comedy list!). She's at her best here.

The movie is funny but has more heart than most comedies - the scenes with Luc's family are lovely and memorable - not at all overdone, just right. The movie's at its best when the principals are all together at Cannes - it becomes less humorous but very warmly romantic. The characters are so well written - there is even sympathy for Timothy Hutton's character. The chemistry between Ryan and Kline (which I wouldn't have believed before I saw it) is very much there. By the time Kevin Kline is singing La Mer over the last of the closing credits (after Louis Armstrong has sung La Vie en Rose), you'll want to see it again.

Kevin Kline is just magnificent - a quite real,interesting, amusing person is created. The Meg Ryan character's primness is irritating - but then one must see why Timothy Hutton found her so (comically, the movie's idea of primness is that she was deflowered at 18 not 13!).

You'll like it.