Merci Docteur Rey

I watched this film knowing going in that it was a French Farce with a stellar cast that have become synonymous with Merchant Ivory productions. I was laughing all the way through - its ham in place, camp in others, self deprecating and in many ways a complete parody of what you'd expect from Merchant Ivory.

Andrew Litvack the writer/director has come up with some cracking lines of dialogue on has put all his "low budget" on the screen. He pulls performances out of cast that befits a good comedy. Jane Birkin is neurotically funny, Jerry Hall proves she can act, Vanessa Redgrave is killer with one particular put down line delivered with expert self effacement at a crucial point in the story, Simon Callow does what he does best, Dianne Wiest is incredible as an Opera Diva and when she smokes a j with one of her Parisienne friends I giggle like a stoner, Stanislas Merhar playing her son, is mesmirisingly good looking and typically French in demeanour throughout - extracting some humour just facial expressions alone.

An English speaking film shot in France, directed by an American with some witty French dialogue added to the mix and this film is for all comers - the Merchant Ivory crowd will love the casting, the Opera crowd will love the costumes, the younger crowd will love the plot twists which keep you guessing.

Look out for the funniest visual gag in a movie that I've seen in a good while - it involves a dress that Jane Birkin wears. Its pure Gene Wilder. There's Woody Allenesque moments and a touch of Robert Altman - the use of Paris reminded me of his film Beyond Therapy - another good intelligent comedy. Loved it. Gonna learn French......

This is not the kind of movie that is going to make it to every theatre - it's only playing at one theater in Paris (but the best theatre!) and when I saw it, the show was completely sold out, but still, it's probably too sophisticated for most movie spectators. The excellent review in Le Monde on Decembre 3 (which is the reason I went to see it) said it was a mixture of Ernst Lubitsch and Woody Allen. This is very true - it's light and funny and very intelligent. Go if you can, if not wait for the DVD, but it's really worth seeing it on the big screen.

A black comedy with a parade of unlikeable characters, but with occasional touches of grace that kept me watching. Dianne Wiest, usually great in funny or funky roles, is squintingly annoying and unconvincing as the puffy diva mother, but Jane Birkin nails the egotistically insecure psych patient (her changing into a nice frock to meet the Diva is a visual pun.) Slavic-cheeked Stanislas Merhar of Gerard Depardieu's 'Count of Monte Cristo' is well-cast as the Diva's cruising son, and Bulle Ogier, almost unrecognisable from the tour-de-force Dominatrix in 'La Maitresse', as the opera director who cribs from a psych textbook is fun. Like the movie itself which swings wildly from murder mystery to farce, the language swings from English to French; subtitles on the DVD come in handy.

An extra half-star for the Parisian street scenes and Penelope's apartment. 5 1/2 stars

This French-American comedy produced by Merchant Ivory (but nothing like their usual staid fare) is totally unpredictable - you never know what's coming next. It's hard to talk about the plot without giving anything away, since there are so many twists and turns - but it all fits together perfectly at the end. The actors are great. Stanislas Merhar (Dry Cleaning) shows that he's great at comedy too, and he's still really cute. What can be said about Dianne Wiest - she's always so great. Jane Birkin is stupendous and so is Bulle Ogier, who I saw and loved in "Gang of Four" by Jacques Rivette. Definitely go see it or rent it when it comes out - you'll be surprised how much fun you'll have. I can't wait to see it again!

This movie is a true original and very entertaining. We have not seen anything like it before and will probably not see anything like it again until the director makes his second film. Very well-acted, handsomely directed and shot, clever use of sets and costumes. Bulle Ogier is as good as in her films by Rivette, Bunuel, Fassbinder, Tanner, Schroeder and the great Werner S. Wiest, Birkin and Merhar are excellent.

Uproarious cameos by Vanessa Redgrave and Jerry Hall. If only Merchant-Ivory (the producers) would take risks like this more often!