Under the Eiffel Tower

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".

I stumbled upon this film flipping channels and found it interesting to watch to the end. It's another of the road trip in Europe movies that I love ("Under the Tuscan Sun", "Paris Can Wait"). Well now we have "Under the Eiffel Tower" and I am eagerly expecting the yet to be written and filmed "Sesso Can Wait". While Eiffel is cliche and predictable and has been done hundreds of times before, it's still fun to watch with the goofy characters, the sometimes embarrassing plots, and the gorgeous picturesque countryside of Bordeaux. With some much wine drinking going on I felt like getting up and pouring myself a glass but it was nearly midnight. Yep, 7 stars for at least trying to be a great picture and just being entertaining even though it didn't make a lot of sense.

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.

I really enjoyed the premise and the way the story moves in France. The main male actor and the actress both deliver really well. There were romantic moments in the movie which are definitely the highlight. Yes, the sudden rather quick ending could have been gradual but not complaining. Don't go by the low rating here. It's an enjoyable romantic comedy.

Not sure why ratings are so low. I enjoyed it. Acting was good. The story is as old as the world itself, nevertheless the setting is beautiful and Judith Godrèche is stunning. No screaming American women here.