Fais-moi plaisir!

Emmanuel Mouret writes, directs and stars in yet another romantic comedy. Before I go in details about this little gem, I should mention that "romantic comedy" has become an umbrella term that encompasses many sub-genres, from deeply romantic films with a light tone to crass humor featuring some form of relationship.

The term romantic comedy as applied to Fais-Moi Plaisir! is definitely of the witty variety. The situations are sometimes comical but never excessive. Much like the director, the main character and his girlfriend explicitly wonder about love, lust and relationships. Although there is much introspective dialogue, it is funny and light. Think "When Harry Met Sally" and you're on the right track.

Mouret is never going to be cast as an action hero but wisely elects for a natural style of acting that makes the whole movie even more endearing. The largely feminine cast around him is absolutely charming and the chemistry seems genuine to us. The shining star for me was Déborah François, who was immediately noticeable even in scenes where she was but a secondary character. As she becomes more involved, you just can't help but almost fall in love with her.

Every far-fetched situation in this film is followed by yet another, always taking a new and odd direction but you're just happy to follow the ride until the end. And make no mistake, although the tone is decidedly light, there are several metaphors contained and also a few homages to comedy classics.

Mouret as a director talks about modern love, using restraint found mostly in older movies. His characters too seem to explore how relationships should work in this modern age. And while the film provides no definitive answer, underneath all the light silliness he does portrait our times pretty accurately.

Strongly recommended!

Jean-Jacques (Emmanuel Mouret himself) and Ariane (Frédèrique Bel) live together happily in their playful world, till the day Jean-Jacques admits to have met another woman. Although he tries to tell her otherwise, Ariane is convinced that he desires this other woman, Elisabeth. With the impending risk of having their relationship end over this supposed desire, she tells him to give in to temptation to quench his desire. Although not wholeheartedly convinced himself, Jean-Jacques none the less goes out to meet the mysterious Elisabeth. It turns out to be a very eventful evening.

Emmanuel Mouret is rapidly establishing himself as a modern master of comedy, theatrical-style, even if he is still perfecting his art. "Fais-Moi Plaisir" stands clearly in line with his previous comedies of "Changement d'adresse" and "Un baisir s'il vous plait", and hopefully not the last either! It is a pity to ruin the thread of unfolding events which take you from one sketch to another, but perhaps an illustration of a -here Jacques Tati style humour- scene:

When Jean-Jacques arrives at Elisabeth's front door, he takes out a piece of paper on which he had written her doorcode and starts punch it in. And it continues… being long enough to be the international phone number of someone in central India. But the door opens. He steps into the hall and into an elevator. Jean-Jacques quickly notices that there are no buttons. Even before the confusion can settle, he hears a voice bidding him welcome into the elevator, and asking him which floor he would like to go to. He replies: "4". The elevator voice asks him to repeat which floor he would like to go to. He says "Eh, fourth floor". The elevator again says that is does not understand, and asks him to repeat. Jean Jacques says: "I'd like to go to the fourth floor… please" and the doors close…

As Jean-Jacques charms all the beautiful ladies surrounding him, we too are swept along through the romantic dreamy world of wide-eyed starlets in hidden corners till our brutal awakening back to earth: the ending. While in itself unremarkable, it still comes along as floodlights in the night. It is a curiosity to leave a comedy unsettled, but the ending is out of character with the film. A blemish on a creative and humorous achievement… but watch it none the less...