Toi et moi

This handsome but fluffy effort proves that the French can make romantic comedies just like Hollywood; it’s up to you to decide whether that’s a valid enterprise. Ariane (Julie Depardieu) is a woman who writes photo-novels for a glossy magazine in which she’s constantly rewriting the love lives of herself and her shy cellist sister Lena (Marion Cotillard). And no wonder Ariane has to resort to fantasy. Not only is her own boyfriend Farid (Tomer Sisley) a self-regarding drip who keeps her at arm’s length but her sister’s pairing with Francois (Eric Berger) has lost all element of spark. Still, Lena’s just met a dashing violinist named Mark (Jonathan Zaccai) and Ariane has spotted hunky construction worker Pablo (Sergio Peris Menchetta) — could better things be in store? The film is as broad and stereotypical as an American romance, for good and for ill — while the whole thing hangs together and looks very good it’s also full of stock characters and has an annoying case of the cutes. And though the film surprises with a sort of open ending, it’s a small gesture that doesn’t make up for the cheesy rest of the movie. Still, as far as these things go, it’s highly watchable, with a pleasingly warm colour scheme and good performances all around. The responsible thing to do in this situation is to say the people who like this sort of thing will find it the sort of thing that they like, while suggesting the people who want something else had better look for it elsewhere. Pick your camp and make your choice.