Prête-moi ta main

Alain Chabat claims this movie as his original idea but the theme of reluctant lovers who finally get it together is as old, if not older, than Shakespeare.

Chabat is a "vieux garcon", happily single and not wanting any member of the opposite sex to disturb his life. He has a problem, 5 sisters and a matriarchal mum - the G7 - who decide he should be married. Enter the delightful, charming Charlotte Gainsbourg and what should be a simple plan. Charlotte has to pose as Chabat's girlfriend and then simply not turn up on the day of the wedding. No more talk of marriage from the G7. Of course the best laid plans have a habit of spiralling out of control.

There are very strong supporting roles from Lafont as the mother and Osterman as the tight-fisted brother of Gainsbourg.

There are some fantastic scenes as first Charlotte has to charm, then revolt the family. French farce with an English.

I love love. I'm a sucker for romantic comedies and as of late, I've been on a foreign film binge. Enter stage left: I Do. While undeniably predictable, the film has its charms and throws in some obstacles I didn't expect and found myself smiling as I watched it unfold.

However, my main concern was the lack of chemistry between Luis and Emma. There were no looks of intrigue, scarcely any playful banter between the two - for the most part, their interaction seemed to be simply what Luis intended it to be - a business interaction. Perhaps I'm terribly picky, but I found the leap between the conspirers' platonic relationship to romance to be a sudden leap rather than one with a bit of a build up. In that case alone, I was mildly disappointed.

But with that aspect aside, the actors do do a good job with the script they're given. Luis's family, although somewhat irritating, are simultaneously charming and overbearing and I warmed up to them in the end. I really think the men need a bit more screen time as they were hardly in it and my favorite scene (the scene with the M6) happened to be one of their few. The wedding comes too quickly for my taste, but with a few more scenes to build character relationships, this film would've been a knock out. So not bad, but not exactly the best film either.

Behold the mighty off-screen presence of singer-actor Luis Mariano, the emerging patron saint of French comedy: Jaco van Dormael's touching "The Eighth Day" came first, then Djamel Bensalah's hilarious "Homeboys at the Beach", and now "How to Get Married". This one is more predictable than the other two, but it will keep lovers of happy endings satisfied without too much of a guilty conscience. If you are, however, like me and think romantic comedy is essentially a cuss word, this old-school vaudeville piece may be your one chance at reconciliation. Charlotte Gainsbourg, super-charming as usual, and Alain Chabat click as comedians and also make a very handsome couple. Oh, and *do* watch out for Virginie Bordes as Annick, the spicy waitress.

Didn't know anything about the movie before watching and I think it was the "no expectation" factor that helped me endure at first and later like it more than I anticipated.

The setting was interesting, strange but interesting. The storyline had gaps/jumps that I think throws the audience off a bit. There's no great soundtrack playing in the background, creating the "romantic" ambiance. BUT they all didn't matter.

The chemistry between Emma and Luis was simply exquisite. There was some inexplicable strange chemistry that I couldn't resist; I fell in love with it and here I am, writing this review. The subtle love portrayal by the two actors was superb, and I believe, that is the core of this movie.

This movie is not an everyday romantic comedy; in fact, not all of us will appreciate it. I had to sit a while and then slowly began to comprehend the little things I didn't catch at first. I cannot guarantee everyone will like it, but I hope YOU do.

In Paris, the forty-three year-old Luis "Pipou" Costa (Alain Chabat) is a immature bachelor and successful creator of perfumes and does not have any intention to get married. However, his oppressive family that is ruled by six women - his mother Geneviève Costa (Bernadette Lafont) and his sisters Catherine (Véronique Barrault), Axelle (Marie-Armelle Deguy), Carole (Katia Lewkowicz), Maxine (Louise Monot)and Marie (Luce Mouchel) decide that Luis shall get married and they try to find a wife for him among their friends.

When Luis is having lunch with his best friend Pierre-Yves (Grégoire Oestermann), he learns that his regular waitress is depressed and not working because her fiancé left her a couple of days before their wedding. Luis plots a scheme to hire a woman to pose as his fiancée and to leave him on the day of their marriage in order that his family does not bother him anymore. He hires Pierre's sister Emmanuelle "Emma" (Charlotte Gainsbourg), who is trying to adopt a child from Brazil, to be his bride-to-be and to leave him at the altar on the day of their wedding. However his plan fails since his family loves Emma and when she does not show up to marry him, his mother has to go to the hospital and his sisters blame him. Now Luis hires Emma again to act like a bitch to make his family hate her. Meanwhile Luis falls in love with Emma and when his plan works and Emma leaves him, he misses her. Would it be too late for him to declare his love for Emma?

"Prête-moi ta main" is a delightful romantic comedy with an entertaining story, funny situations and very well acted. The charming, elegant and beautiful Charlotte Gainsbourg is one of my favorite actresses and I loved to see her in a light movie after several Lars von Triers features. The characters are interesting and we can see the stingy guy, the family that likes to snoop and interfere in the life of the members and an independent woman that is the opposite of the other women. In the end, "Prête-moi ta main" is a French comedy that will make your day (or night) better. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Noiva Perfeita" ("The Perfect Bride")