18 ans après (2003)
Directed by Coline Serreau

Film Review

Coline Serreau's long-awaited sequel to her 1985 hit comedy Trois hommes et un couffin proved to be a massive disappointment in just about every department.  Lacking the spontaneity, depth of characterisation, directorial flair and sophisticated fun of the original film, 18 ans après resembles more a low-budget, hastily cobbled together TV movie from a trainee film crew.  Lacking any kind of coherent narrative, with too many incidental characters, the film takes a while to capture the spectator's interest - and by then, the film is virtually over.  There is some pleasure to be had in seeing André Dussollier, Michel Boujenah and Roland Giraud together again but their performances are dimmed by an inadequate script that merely wastes their time as well as the spectators'. This is a rare misfire for Coline Serreau, one of France's most gifted and respected female film directors.

Film Synopsis

Now that she has turned 18 and has her baccalaureate safely in her pocket, Marie is happy to spend her summer holidays in the company of her mother Sylvia in the south of France.  Sylvia has just returned to the country after a long stay in America, with the man she has just married and his two sons from a previous relationship.  Completing the happy reunion are the three men who were forced into looking after Marie when she was dumped on their doorstep eighteen years ago - Michel, Jacques and Pierre.  What should have been a happy occasion acquires a bitter tinge when Marie has her first painful encounter with love...