I had never heard of this film before it appeared at the top of the schedule for our very-far-from-France city’s cinema club (pretty much the only way folk in the Cowboy State get to see foreign or “art” films on the big screen), as I am far from this kind of thing’s target audience. That being said, well, I didn’t hate it. There is nothing original here; the film is pretty much a feature-length illustration of a point made in Dangerous Beauty when a courtesan turns down a night with the court poet because they “can’t afford one another.”

In this case, of course, “afford” is a bit of a stretch; we have a woman who is your basic gold-digger, who tries to “trade up” from her current meal ticket as the film opens. She gambles and loses big; the handsome, rich young man she dallies with twice on successive birthdays turns out to be a dud from her point of view, and her rich old man turns her out on her ear.

But wait: handsome young man tries to scoop her up anyway, even after she treats him horribly and cleans him out to teach him a lesson. What luck! She has an ally, whom she proceeds to turn into another courtesan. Now they’re like the teamed-up con men in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and each has a mark before long. What fun!

Except, really, not. For all the sexiness (conveyed largely via Audrey Tatou’s parading around in ever-skimpier dresses) and romance, this is basically a tale of two parasites. Yes, they redeem themselves at the end and ride off on the motor scooter he has “earned” (am I the only one who really felt sorry for the rich older woman who gets left in the lurch here? Maybe it’s just because I’m closer to her age than the hero and heroine’s, but she’s kind of a tragic figure for all she’s a rich widow; men her age are all still chasing cute young things like Tatou, leaving her no choice but to seek out a young one, too, and essentially rent him. At their last parting, she says she’s had worse and that, for me, is the most genuinely felt moment in the whole movie).

I say it’s worth consuming only because it’s a reminder of how wonderful love can not be when it’s used as a tool.

a perfect chick flick, but because it is in french, you feel less guilty. you go from watching a “chick flick” to having more refined tastes and enjoying foreign film. really can’t go wrong with this one. my boyfriend also enjoyed this film (to the point that he rented another french chick flick starring gad elmaleh).