Film review: French Kiss (1995), directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Kate (Meg Ryan) is a nice American girl living in Canada with her fiancé Charlie (Timothy Hutton). She’s busy planning the wedding and buying a house for them to live in, and because she’s terrified of flying she doesn’t join Charlie on a business trip to France.
Things would be great if it wasn’t for the phone call that shatters her cosy life: Charlie phones from France to let her know that he’s not coming back. He’s found a French woman, Juliette (Suzan Anbeh), with whom he has fallen head over heels in love.
Kate puts her life on hold and decides to go to Paris to win him back, despite her fear of flying. Sitting next to her on the plane is an annoying Frenchman, Luc Teyssier (Kevin Kline), who manages to distract her all the way to Paris. Oh, if only he wasn’t chased by the police (Jean Reno) and has happened to put something very valuable in Kate’s backpack when she wasn’t looking …
You know it’s a comedy because Kevin Kline has a moustache. And a comedy it is – it’s actually funny. Meg Ryan plays the sort of character she normally gets to play, and all the while Kevin Kline is charming and obnoxious in equal amounts.
Kate really needed a big reality check, because her chasing half-way around the world to get her man back wasn’t cute, it was pathetic. So you got dumped because your fiancé is an asshole. Better to learn that before the wedding, wouldn’t you say? No, she gets into a needy fit and has to go to Paris to convince him that he loves her, not that French floozie. Way to represent there, girl.
Nah, I think I prefer the moustachioed rogue. There’s a heart of gold lurking there, and he does have a way with people. Charlie, on the other hand, really shouldn’t be touched with a barge pole. He’s about as faithful as a soap character; perfect marriage material, if you don’t mind the affairs he’ll undoubtedly end up having.
This is a charming sort of film, though. Nice and sunny, a little bit of romance, good sexual tension between the characters, and it comes pre-packaged with a happy ending and everything.
3 out of 5 vines.
I’d like to see this movie. Kevin Kline seems to do very well with the French language.
I don’t really know French enough to be able to tell for sure, but it sounded pretty good. 🙂
I saw this movie years ago and really enjoyed it. I even bought the soundtrack, which is actually quite good. And of course, France is always its beautiful self …
Yeah, there are some very nice vineyards in the film, for instance. 🙂
I saw this when it came out. What I always end up thinking after 2 hours spent with Meg Ryan is *why* did she let herself get typecast this way?
Yup, you’re not wrong there … She seems to play the same character in every film, give or take.