FRENCH KISS
Starring:
-Kevin Kline
-Meg Ryan
Directed by: Lawrence Kasdan
Screenplay Credits: Adam Brooks
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Kate (Ryan) has just been overseas dumped by her philandering slimeball fiancé (Timothy Hutton) who’s not ready to commit to her but is more that happy to settle down with a French “god-dess”. Despite her intense phobia of flying, Kate boards a plane to France to find her fiancé and force him to love her again. Beside her on the plane is Kevin Kline, a French con artist who is smuggling a vine (and an expensive diamond necklace) out of Canada in hopes of starting his own vineyard.
Through a series of comical mishaps, both characters are repeatedly thrown together until they realize they’re madly in love. Ah, romance.
I love this movie, mostly because of Kevin Kline. He’s a fascinating guy who always makes really interesting film choices. He’s the perfect charming “good guy” con man and he’s got just the right amount of danger to him with the stealing cars and pocket picking. I love the scene where his character first meets Kate. He realizes that she’s having a freak attack about flying, so he insults her during take off so that she doesn’t even notice until they’re already in the air. Then he gets her a little drunk.
Another element I liked about this film was the good ole standard “cop protects good hearted con man because good hearted con man once saved cop’s life” device. It’s been done to death, but it manages to be fresh and interesting within this world.
This movie also features my favorite version of Meg Ryan. She was still going through her “America’s Sweetheart” phase and she hadn’t yet done that weird plastic surgery thing to her lips that made her look like the Jack Nicholson Joker. She’s so good at playing needy neurotics that it makes you wonder how much of that is drawn from personal experience. Considering past events (Russell Crowe, you cad!), she probably isn’t so needy and neurotic. Just trampy and irresponsible. Which blew the door wide open for Julia Roberts to make her Pretty Woman self right at home.
This is one of the few romantic comedies that isn’t so treacly sweet it makes you want to vomit until you die. So watch it sometime.
FINAL GRADE: A
Off in search of my philandering fiancé,
M.
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I like the part where she hollers that's she lactose intolerant, "SPASM SPASM!"
ReplyDeleteAnd I like Kevin Kline's French accent and the way he says things reminds of Clouse from the Pink Panther.