Thirty-Five Something (2005)

Perfect cast and a good story

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

When on wants to photograph something with the best brightness possible photographs use a tripod. To tell us a delightful story the Director Cécile Telerman (also co-writer of the script) used three excellent french actress: Mathilde Seigner, Anne Paurillaud and Judith Godrèche. They play (in sequence): Juliette - beginning counselor who doesn't measure her words (crass but truthful) - Florence (example of perfect mother/wife always willing to serve the husband "an artist who never have sold a single work" and with great sacrifice, including jeopardizing her career, educated their son). The film is typically french (scenaries) for instance: 1) a quick look of a beautiful square, in which the three friends talk and walk - the camera moving backwards; and 2) a table with bottles of wine (when I saw that scene I remembered my last visit to Paris, his tasteful wines and food...) To the point: a highly recommendable movie for those who like a comedy like only french and/or Belgian people can do. By the way: is the personage Xavier (Bernard Yerlès) a motion-picture producer and/or director a "copy" of Cécile Telerman? In a scale of 1 to 10, I vote 9 (excellent).

Three women at late thirties comment their relationship with men, and try to explain why are they so bad. All have their problems, but lack of love is the worse, so they will have to do a great job to solve this. Well, the movie is boring, the story is stupid and none of the actress are good. In addition, they ask themselves why their relationship with men are so bad, when they are absolutely paranoid, hysteric and its impossible to deal with them. If they were not so miserable, men would come to them (as happens at the end, when they start to act as a normal person, not mental). It is supposed to be a comedy, but actually, I have smiled in all the film indeed (well, maybe when it ended, as it was done). It is just a very bad movie, there are many better ones.

Don't go see this if you don't have a sense of humour or if you're an obstinate chauvinist or if you don't understand French. This movie likes to turn things around, it's a breeze as well as some sort of a hurricane on bad times, habits, things you do just because you're used to do them or because that's the way things are done here.Now, if you feel like having your mind blown open, or if you feel a bit down and need A Good Laughter or two or three... what are you waiting for? Judith is as glamorous as ever, Anne is as beautiful as usual and Mathilde is as dry and witty and sometimes mean as necessary. I promise you won't feel down or depressed when you leave your seat :-)Ahem! Now, if you're 40-ish, still single, again single, possibly getting bald... well, don't take it too personal ;-)A Good Time (tm)

This is another of those extra-light souffles the French turn out so effortlessly and which, like Domestic champagne, slip down easily on their own turf but seldom travel well. There's absolutely no reason why distributors would want to import this, none of the three leading actresses have much of, if any at all, a following outside France despite boasting three very respectable CVs. This is yet another take on our old fried the mid-life crisis as it applies to three thirty-something girls who have been friends since childhood, doctor, Judith Godreche, lawyer Mathilde Seigner and Indian chief Anne Parilllaud. Not a lot happens, they go shopping, go drinking, indulge in girl talk, have affairs or not as the case may be but they do it with panache, it's pleasant to watch and entirely forgettable. 6 stars.