French Kiss

Rating:
Summary: Probably one of the reasons I married a Frenchie
Review: There are too many great things about this film to reduce to a short list, but a few of my favorites are Kevin Kline and his fantastic French accent, François Cluzet in his adorable role as the smarmy French charmer and thief, Jean Reno who's fab, as usual, Meg Ryan and her smart-ass come backs, and of course, la musique which makes you feel as if you can actually smell the café and croissants. C'est magnifique.

I saw this film at college in the midst of my French BA and, largely b/c of this wonderful story, flew off the following summer to France where I fell in love myself! Ah, l'amour! Ah, la belle France!


Rating:
Summary: Why do I always fall for Meg Ryan?
Review: While I have never been a fan of Meg Ryan, I find myself attracted to the films that she is in. Sometimes I just want to sit back and watch American romance comedies - they're usually so much fun. So I watched this, knowing I don't usually like her, hoping that maybe she could change my opinion of her. She didn't.

Poor Kevin Kline. This movie could have been really exciting - a reunion with Jamie Lee Curtis would have been perfect - Curtis could have pulled this off with ease. Or how about Jennifer Aniston - a great comedic actress who has the skill for serious drama. But Ryan is just Ryan in this movie: I saw her Kate in "Kate and Leopold" and other Ryan major roles all surface in this flick... and was turned off as usual.

There is a strange physical jaunt that she expels in many of the romantic comedies that she is in - in exasperation, she thrusts her arm into the air and bends slightly at the waist rocking back and forth, in an "Aw - sheesh - damn" kind of rhythm which is so trite and so unnecessary - that she throws at us again in this film. More than once. It is tiring, and too recognizable: why should I be reminded of "Kate and Leopold" or "When Harry Met Sally" every time I see Ryan?

The story is fun and smart, the supporting cast is great. Everyone shines - especially Kevin Kline, whom I don't consider supporting cast, don't get me wrong. He is perfectly cast as the Franco-American with dreams as of yet beyond his grasp. He is sly and wise as a criminal, and gives us the benefit of the doubt throughout this movie. Jean Reno is perfect as his comrade-cum-official.

This movie could have been so much more than it is. The French countryside is gorgeous, and you might just wish there was more to the leading lady to complement it.

Rating:
Summary: French and Fabulous!
Review: Sometimes a romantic comedy comes along that pulls at so many strings and is appealing on so many levels that you have to watch it at least once or twice a year...this movie happens to be one of those special treats.

Paris becomes her own character in this beautiful comedy filled with the romance of a great city all under the watch of the sparkling Eiffel. This movie is directed by Lawrence Kasdan and he works the film around beautiful scenic French views leaving viewer's that love Paris breathless and begging for more. The storyline is humorous and the actors perfectly cast in roles that they seem natural at playing. The film is effortless to watch and that must be why it draws me in year after year.

Meg Ryan plays a woman engaged to Timothy Hutton in a boring and predictable little relationship. Things change drastically when Hutton goes to Paris on business and leaves Ryan at home because she is afraid to fly. But there is nothing like an old jealous heart to overcome such a silly phobia and Ryan finds herself on a plane to Paris to save her man from the arms of a beautiful young Parisian. Aboard the plane she meets Kevin Kline, who represents all things stereotypically French! Ryan is always perfect as the girl next door who stumbles about trying to stay in love. She is cute and perky as usual. Hutton is staid and serious until he is seduced by a vibrant and passionate French woman and begins his mid-life crisis falling for the belief that this seductress wants him and not his salary. Kline is convincingly French, with his wild haired and open minded talk, his always present dismissing pout and his passion for life. The fun begins as the plane lands in Paris and it never ends.

If you love France this film will romance you many times over. The cast is great together and the romantic comedy great for the heart. From the most romantic city in the world Kasdan gives us a new reason to dance and a desire to kiss as the French do!


Rating:
Summary: Romance Is Not My Bag
Review: I don't do romantic comedy or "chick flicks" as they are called. This chick is just not into that sort of fluff. However, I ended up watching this movie quite by accident, and came away from it having enjoyed it.

Meg Ryan is Kate, and her fiancee has just dumped her for a French Goddess. So, as anyone willing to drag themselves through the dirt for another, Kate follows them to France, bent on getting her beloved Charlie back.

She meets Luc, played masterfully by Kevin Kline on the way, and from there begin a series of adventures that would be unfair to give away in this review.

This movie got four stars mostly because Kevin Kline cannot go wrong. He is startlingly sexy in this movie, and he delivers some of the most hilarious lines I've seen in a movie of this genre. He made the movie. Anyone else in his role would have made this just another chick flick.

There is just enough toilet humor in it to rob it of too much sentimentality, and even though the mushiness is something you go into this sort of movie expecting, it isn't so saccharine you feel you need to brush your teeth after watching it.

Meg Ryan is in her element, being cute and neurotic. It is a solid performance in a role typical for her and holds no surprises, nor does it stretch much.

Predictability robs it of a five star rating. Before the opening credits were done, I knew exactly what would happen, and needed only to discover how.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect pick-me-up
Review: Romantic comedies are not typically my favorite movies, but this one saved my sanity when I was separated from my husband for 5 months during a relocation. No matter how bad my day had been, how late it was when I finally returned from work to my lonely rented room, Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline always made me laugh out loud. Having spent a lot of time in France certainly helped the humor resonate with me (especially the scene on the airplane when they first meet). But, I would recommend this movie to those without travel experience, as well. Most of us have had at least one relationship experience that involved chasing someone we thought we couldn't live without, only to find him unappealing in the end (perhaps wearing a God-awful white suit and making a complete fool of himself in public?).

Rating:
Summary: One to fall in love with
Review: Great chemistry...You'll love the unpredictible situations...One of my favorites...If you've ever been dumped for another "goddess"this one is great to curl up on the couch with the love that you found...A++++++++++++++