Ma femme est une actrice

Today I had the privilege of viewing "My Wife is an Actress" at a preview for the San Francisco International Film Festival. I highly recommend the French comedy, which I understand is being released by Sony in May.

Without having realized the male lead Atal is also the Writer & Director, it's all the more amazing how one can juggle so many tasks effectively. Likely this is because it is undoubtedly based on his real life, including his real life wife playing his wife (the actress).

I know this type of setup has been done before, but the behind the scenes element of a movie set is very appealing. Atal lets us in on the filming and behind the scenes monotony of film making. Terence Stamp, as the English speaking actor of some note, is a true delight as usual.

In particular, the opening montage and a scene not for the modest should be taken note of for their own appeal.

I believe only the true cynic will be disappointed with the ending, which in today's movies (especially Hollywood films) are lacking in conclusions or resolutions.

I'm not familiar with French films, but I purposely bought this film because I am a long-time fan of Terence Stamp. And as always I am never disappointed in his presence on the screen. Ivan Attal was hilarious as the jealous husband -a very talented, animated actor. Charlotte did a fine job, but seemed low energy or bored most of the time. The attraction between Charlotte and Terence was laughable. I caught that amusement in Terence's behavior whenever he was around her -he really couldn't care less, could he, but why not try? His lack of enthusiasm was evident when he approached Charlotte's assistant with: "Well, what are YOU doing tonight?"

At the end of the "I'm pregnant!" scene, I wanted to know: Whose baby?

This film had a real chance of success. The basic premise--How does a man feel when his wife is famous and he isn't?--holds lots of creative possibilities.

Unfortunately, these possibilities are never realized. We never understand why a famous actor would want this lout of a sportswriter as her husband. (Incidentally, he is the only sportswriter I know

who never appears to have a deadline.)

The movie is miscast. The wife, Charlotte Gainsbourg, is supposed to be drop-dead beautiful in the context of the film, and Ms. Gainsbourg is certainly attractive, but not at that level. Also, Terence Stamp, the third side of the triangle, is supposed to be miraculously attractive to young women, and I don't see that either. It is one thing to suspend disbelief, but another to throw disbelief out the window.

A subplot about the husband's sister, who is Jewish, and her pregnancy never works. In fact, as a physician, all I could do was cringe as the sister smoked throughout her pregnancy. I think that was supposed to be charming.

We get so few French movies in Upstate New York that I hate to criticize the ones we do get, but this movie is just not worth the price of admission, no matter how starved we are for French films.

This film begins with an interesting idea, and moves along well for a time, but for me it failed to maintain its pace and hold my interest fully. Perhaps something was lost in the translation. One minute Charlotte is saying that things have been bad for them, Yvan and herself, and the next she's overjoyed that she's pregnant. I'm not really clear on her relationship with either of the male characters. It did have some funny moments, but overall, I was somewhat disappointed.

"My Wife is an Actress" is all about a man who becomes jealous of his wife's handsome costar when she's required to do boudoir scenes. A so-so romantic comedy with precious little romance, this flick fails to focus on the central question which asks: How do you know if your wife is cheating de facto, in heart or mind, while she performs in bed with another man for the cameras? Instead, the film ruminates about the jealous husband and the tentative wife with occasional excursions into a whole side matter about circumcision which contributes nothing while managing to conjure up a few delightfully clever scenes. With good art, excellent camera work, and solid performances, this half English, half French flick makes for a nominal subtitled watch best saved for broadcast. (B-)