Under the Eiffel Tower

If I could give this movie a negative score, it would be minus 10. Poor plot, poor writing, terrible acting, and no direction at all. Even the title, Under The Eiffel Tower, had nothing to do with the film. It's hard to believe that money was spent on such a worthless project. Happily, it didn't cost me any money to suffer through this uninspired waste of time. Save your money, save your time, save yourselves!!! Stay away from this film.

This is a pleasant little romantic comedy, with a couple of big problems. It might be the best you're going to do for Valentine's Day 2019 if you don't like slasher movies. The first big problem is the male lead, Matt Walsh. He just doesn't express enough emotion to carry a romantic comedy. The other actors are fine, especially Michaela Watkins as his best friend's wife. Reid Scott, whom I haven't seen before, was also good as a sleazy former soccer player.

The other problem is in the initial premise: major creepiness here. I shan't spoil it, but maybe they should have had him fall in love with Michaela Watkins or something like that.

We liked it. Yes, it is predictable, and follows a pretty standard plot line. But, the acting is adequate, and the actors make it fun. Yes, the drink a lot of wine, but it is set mostly in a vineyard, after all.

If the producers of Sideways decided on a sequel they might have made this movie. It has a weaker script, actors one step below Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden Church and Sandra Oh, but.... They did step up in scenery. The winery and French countryside are stunning. The rest of the movie felts like a cheap knockoff of a classic movie known as Sideways.

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library. Strangely about 20% of the IMDB votes are "1" which is bogus. While it isn't a great movie it has some nice elements and is mostly entertaining.

The title refers to a botched marriage proposal, a 50-ish man, a family friend, proposes to a 26-yr-old daughter under the Eiffel Tower, after mistaking her friendship for a romantic interest. Properly embarrassed he decides to wander randomly into France, ending up in the wine region near the city of Bordeaux. On the train he meets a pretty French lady who, it turns out, is co-owner of a really nice vineyard. In turn he convinces his boss back in Kentucky that their company should buy the vineyard. But he really wants to have the lady.

In reality it is a small fluff of a movie but is decently entertaining. Don't trust any reviews that claim it is a "1" or a "10".