French film photo galley for Romance/Comedy

French films Romance/Comedy

Est-ce bien raisonnable? (1981)

Compared with some of Georges Lautner’s better known films, Est-ce bien raisonnable? must rate as a pretty minor work, lacking the biting wit, energy and sense of fun of Lautner’s earlier achievements. However, some spirited performances from a talented cast just about make this an attractive and mildly entertaining film... [More...]

Le Quart d'heure américain (1982)

Despite entertaining performances from lead actors Anémone and Gérard Jugnot, this is a somewhat empty romantic comedy which appears to owe more to low budget American comedies than to French cinema. It is not all bad, however, and some of the comic situations are quite amusing. The film derives its unusual title from the so-called "American hours" at French dance parties in... [More...]

Les Sous-doués en vacances (1982)

After the success of Les Sous-doués , the film which established Daniel Auteuil as a popular comic actor in France, a sequel was more than justified and, if anything, that sequel proved to be better than the first film. Les Sous-doués en vacances is a laugh-a-minute comedy which is replete with visual jokes (the best example probably being the infamous “Jaws” send-up)... [More...]

Ma femme s'appelle reviens (1982)

This bittersweet romantic comedy from director Patrice Leconte would be easily forgotten were it not for the contributions from its two lead actors. Michel Blanc and Anémone have a great on-screen rapport and bring both pathos and humour to their portrayals of two lovelorn individuals. Blanc featured in Leconte’s previous hit ( Les Bronzés... [More...]

La Femme de mon pote (1983)

The ménage-à-trois situation is a recurring theme in director Bertrand Blier’s deliciously subversive filmography and it is always interesting to compare the different way he approaches the subject in his films, from the outrageously farcical Tenue de soirée to the intensely brooding Trop belle pour toi... [More...]

Le Jumeau (1984)

Le Jumeau is a boisterous, typically Gallic, sex comedy starring the incomparable Pierre Richard, arguably one of France’s funniest comic actors. The film was directed by Yves Robert, who, despite being best known for his two-part drama La Gloire de mon père / Le Château de ma mere (1990), also directed some of France’s most successful film comedies... [More...]

Le Bon plaisir (1984)

Despite some above average production values, this is a very dry political satire which never seems to get going. Although the performances from its stars, particularly Serrault and Trintignant, are up to scratch, the characters are generally uninteresting and appear disinterested in what is happening to them. There are some nice comic touches... [More...]

Marche à l'ombre (1984)

Popular actor Michel Blanc made his directorial début with this ebullient urban comedy, in which he stars alongside sex symbol Gérard Lanvin. Whilst the plot is a bit of a mess, Blanc manages to hold the whole thing together well for a novice director, and there are plenty of visual gags to keep us entertained... [More...]

Cent francs l'amour (1986)

With its bizarre bisexual love triangle and saucy eroticism, Cent francs l’amour was one of the most unusual French romantic comedies of the 1980s. Although the plot is somewhat implausible, the film makes some intelligent observations on the nature of obsession and shows what lengths individuals are prepared to go to when hooked by the power of love... [More...]

L'Ami de mon amie (1987)

For the final instalment in his series of six films entitled Comédies et proverbes , Eric Rohmer takes has his starting point the adage that "my friend’s friend is also my friend". From this he constructs an enchanting tale of friendship and fidelity which is embroidered with gentle irony and tenderness. In many ways... [More...]

L'Étudiante (1988)

After their successful collaboration on La Boum (1980) and La Boum 2 (1982) debutante actress Sophie Marceau and director Claude Pinoteau conspired to serve up yet another dollop of low calorie entertainment for dewy eyed adolescents emerging from the minefield of puberty into the disaster zone known as adulthood. Wetter than a monsoon-themed weekend in Brittany... [More...]

La Lectrice (1988)

This is a film which is not just about the pleasure of reading but also about the power it has to alter our perception of the world, offering us new experiences which can be as profound as anything in real life. It is a bizarre thing to say, but watching this film is strangely like reading a book. The way in which the film draws its viewer into its subject is as subtle and effective as if... [More...]

Quelques jours avec moi (1988)

Quelques jours avec moi is another engaging romantic drama from director Claude Sautet, this time featuring the dream pairing of Daniel Auteuil with Sandrine Bonnaire, two of the finest actors in French cinema. It is an attractive film, marred slightly by some unconvincing characterisation and bizarre plot twists, but sensitive performances from the two lead actors compensate for most of... [More...]

Romuald et Juliette (1989)

Coline Serreau followed her box office hit Trois homes et un couffin (1985) with this charming romantic comedy which features an improbable romance against a backdrop of boardroom intrigue. Whilst the plot is ludicrously contrived and is let down by some awful stereo-typical characterisation, it does have one significant plus point: the pairing of Daniel Auteuil with Firmine Richard... [More...]

Trop belle pour toi (1989)

Bertrand Blier’s most impressive film to date, Trop belle pour toi is an intensely melancholic and moving portrait of obsession and marital infidelity starring France’s leading actor, Gérard Depardieu. When the film was released it received mixed reviews from film critics but it went on to earn a brace of prestigious awards... [More...]

Green Card (1990)

In the 1980s, Gérard Depardieu established himself as the most high-profile film actor of his generation in his native France. It was not until 1990, with Green Card, his first American film, that he achieved the status of international celebrity. Although made in the United States, Green Card is an atypical romantic comedy which is nearer to French comedy... [More...]

Le Mari de la coiffeuse (1990)

Le mari de la coiffeuse, one of Patrice Leconte’s best films, is a delicate existentialist portrait of passion, in which the need to love and be loved is shown to be every bit as vital as eating and breathing. The sumptuous moody photography conveys a whole range of conflicting moods, drawing the spectator willingly into the emotionally insecure but irresistible universe of a hairdresser... [More...]

Mon père, ce héros (1991)

Mon père ce héros is a fine example of French romantic comedy, with an exceptionally well-balanced blend of humour and sentiment. The comedy seems to fly off the pages of a very well written script, whilst not greatly diminishing the impact of the tender entwined love stories that lie at the heart of the film... [More...]

Après l'amour (1992)

In one of her better films, Diane Kurys paints a vivid and rather moving portrait of mid-life crisis – as experienced by the generation that, in their bra-burning youth, participated in the 1968 riots and thereby caused a cultural revolution in France. Kurys’s films are noted for their honest depiction of brittle human relationships and complex portrayals of femininity in a world... [More...]

IP5 (1992)

Time and again, director Jean-Jacques Beineix found it hard to repeat the success of his first film, Diva (1981), and although some of his subsequent work has some artistic merit, much of it really does deserve to be forgotten. His fifth film, IP5 , has all the telltale signs of a director who is desperately flailing about for new ideas in an attempt to affirm his artistic credentials... [More...]

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