Quatre étoiles (2006)
Franssou, a charming Parisian English teacher, who shares part of her life with a boring middle-aged lover, dreams of another life. So, when she unexpectedly inherits 50,000 euros, she grasps the opportunity and goes to the French Riviera in order to take it easy in luxury. In the four-star hotel where she rents a room she comes across Stéphane, a strange guy who is in the process of arranging Elton John's next coming to the place. Intrigued by the noisy ostentatious fellow, she follows him until she finally comes into contact with him. She knows Stéphane is at bay and decides to take advantage of it.
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Wonderful character development!
The Worst Film Ever
Simply Perfect
I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
It's possible to believe in Stephane, the con man who operates in a smart hotel on the Riviera, but he's not particularly interesting or likable; and why he falls in love with the schoolteacher who is spending her small inheritance is a mystery. And we are supposed to believe that the schoolteacher instantly transforms into a tough business-person, and falls in love with Stephane. I didn't. I neither believed her character, nor liked her dishonest and greedy manner. Stephane's friend the tongue-tied, love-struck racing car champ (Cluzet) was another idea without any basis in character. And everyone talks all the time, while I was longing for them to get out and see a bit of the Riviera and do something. By the halfway mark I was wondering if this might have made a decent film with a better script some charismatic actors, and a director with some visual flair, but it was merely an idea to revive a sort of "To Catch a Thief" with very little understanding of the dramatic infrastructure or charm, or pace of that film, I realised I was dreaming. The Hitchcock picture isn't that good, but next to this one, it's a masterpiece. "Quatre Etoiles" has a couple of good ideas, but they do not a feature film make.
This french movie is not so bad.There's maybe not so interesting and very regular,or even a little bit Hollywood,in the beginning,but it's gonna be cool after that.If you like movies made by France,so buy this movie on DVD and watch this.That's my recommendation.The acting is good,the directing of the picture is also good enough.This is comedy and you find yourself really funny till the end of the film. " "When I was just as far as I could walkFrom here today,There was an hourAll stillWhen leaning with my head against a flowerI heard you talk.Don't say I didn't, for I heard you say--You spoke from that flower on the windowsill--Do you remember what it was you said?" Robert Frost"
I agree on the whole with other comments, I found them even relatively enlightening in the sense that I did not see myself the references to the great American comedy. May be I should see the movie in black and white! Nevertheless there is a commentator, I don't share the opinion, it is the one who suggests the movie can be see as a parable on french-Arab politics, it's going too far in its analysis, the movie is not the slightest taking this issue in its perspective, and at the bottom of it there is even an unpleasant possibility of racism ; let's say I agree with the commentator who (very) kindly criticizes him. No, the only question for me is : how can one believe that Isabelle Carré is a dull girl it takes so long for the conman to fall in love with ? This I can't believe. By the way, another minor questions : where all those french commentators did learn such a good English ?
Even though the chances of her equalling let alone eclipsing her fantastic performance in Se Souvenirs des belles choses are remote to non-existent I will always seen anything Isabelle Carre appears in because she is not only a fine actress but also gorgeous in a quiet, under-stated manner. Mostly she's chosen or been lucky enough to appear in quality product but there's always a first time and this, I guess, is it. We have not one but two dodgy premises here; first that someone as gorgeous as Carre would choose to shack up with Michel Vuilleroz; Vuilleroz is, read my lips, a great actor, he is, after all, a member of Le Comedy Francaise and they don't do chopped liver but even his mother would not presume to cast him as love interest and Carre DOES find him boring but the point is she would NEVER have found him partner material in a million years. Second dodgy premise; having inherited 50,000 euros out of the blue Fransouss (Carre) decides to spend it all in one fell swoop, accordingly she buys a classy car and checks into the Carlton at Cannes where she encounters a guy, Stephane Garcia (Garcia) who makes Vuilleroz look like Tom Cruise and is mean with it so naturally she falls for him like Richmond fell for Grant. Not only is Stephane a small time con man - he is 'promoting' Elton John who, he claims, will check into the Carlton any day now and until he does Stephane is living on the cuff - but also beats up Fransouss and leaves her stranded in the country. Despite this .... well, some girls NEVER learn. It wouldn't be so bad if Garcia had any personality or charisma - I STILL don't know what Sandrine Kiberlain was doing with him in Apres Vous when she could have had Daniel Auteuil - let alone looks and when the leading man is a no-no it only makes everything else that much worse. On the credit side we have Isabelle to look at and though it should be it's not quite enough.