Stream it now 2 Days in Paris 2007

 

A fresh, funny, particularly entertaining movie about stereotypes.

It's Adam Goldberg, I mean what else do you need? Weenie & ballons would go good too! If you go to France, be prepared to speak French.

If you want to genuinely feels the highs and lows of an entire relationship condensed into two days, this is your film. The movie is funny and emotionally intense and is definitely worth two hours of your life.

Recently I was hassled into seeing the newest Julie Deply film, by my slightly anti-bourgeois friend Lauren, who'll be in the bar until Thursday. I say 'hassled' as it wasn't my choice in cinema viewing, but after a dodgy Chinatown dinner and half a bottle of cheap plonk, I'm your lady.

As you may know, Deply is the Parisian, blonde co-star of the film. What you may not know is that she is also the writer/director/editor/co-producer/co-closing songwriter and probably the tea lady. Perhaps because she likes control, perhaps because she's a bit of a cheapskate, but for whatever reason the film works.

The focus of the film is on the relationship between Marion (Deply) and her cynical, bearded, New Yorker boyfriend Jack. They take a trip to Europe and spend two days in Paris visiting Marion's family and ex's. Their initial plan was for them to get back some of the romance that has begun to disappear after being together for two years. But in a humourous twist of fate Marion can't seem to avoid her ex's and Jack can't seem to get away from America. Whether it's a group of 'Da Vinci Code' fanatical tourists, or a visit to Jim Morrison's grave where he mockingly tells Marion's father "I'm a huge Val Kilmer fan".

Marion's mother and father (Delpy's actual parents) are both brilliantly natural and amusing together, causing Jack to feel uneasy and paranoid with the language barrier which neither can be bothered to break. Marion's father also turns out to be a bit of a blase vandal who without any hesitation drags a key across parked cars because they are parked badly.

It seems Delpy is a talented comical writer, but Marion and Jack just didn't seem to work as a winning couple. Their constant quarrelling started to distract me from wanting them to sort out their problems, and instead break up. However, as the film draws to a close it starts to clean up, and as Marion comments on troubles they have had as lovers, we listen to something more thought-out and sympathetic. The film is funny and cringe-worthily insightful, its no Manhattan, but with a bit more thought and time, Deply will no doubt write something even better. But for now, this little erratically funny commentary on relationships is a hopeful indication of what's to come.

This movie is a lot of fun, especially for americans who often feel lost in another culture that seemingly is like their own but has some fundamental differences. Delby has portrayed her character (Marion) to the hilt, while Goldberg does equal justice to his character (Jack) by finding out- while on a visit to her parents in Paris- a whole lot more about his girlfriend of 2 years- living in NYC- than he really wanted to know. Being immersed in a situation where he's constantly talked around (and about) in rapid French has him wondering what's going on- and with good reason. Attempts to explain things or to translate what's being said for him are frequently misleading or (mostly) polite coverups; his frequent trips to his French-English dictionary are not overly helpful, either, as what's being said is frequently in colloquial French and is either untranslatable or else not in the dictionary at all. What he clearly understands are that he's being left in the sexual dust, conversationally and otherwise. All in all a really funny movie about what few American filmmakers handle well, if at all. I'd like to see more movies as well done as this one was!

rare delirium

ALERT : To all those who believe Delpy's portrayal of the French may be authentic DO NOT FALL FOR IT. This movie is no less than a DUMB and FALSE stereotype of French people.
Is it because Julie's own family is so fucked up (the mom and dad in her film are her real parents) that all French familys are the same ? I couldn't believe how wrong and twisted the portrayal of her own people was. Besides, if you launch yourself into stereotypes than you're pretty sure to get everything wrong which is the case of this movie. I mean, what are people going to think about Paris when they see this crap that all French are hot perverts ??
What nonesense.

More from writer and actors is welcome.

Puntuaci

Not really my type of movie. The characters are pretty unbelievable. Do people in France really act like that? Goldberg, I thought, did pretty good. Suprised he's not in more movies. Too much talking, pretty boring.