R FC Is it a romantic comedy or a farce? In either case, it does not succeed as either or both. The biggest problem is the with the premise. The notion that someone will go to such lengths, and such financial expense, to help someone who is in dire need of medical assistance is simply not plausible. Afterall, the guy does try to kill himself within the first few minutes. And thus one watches this movie constantly thinking, "I don't believe this is happening". While the acting is fine, the characters are all to broad and the reason for the infatuation with the girl is never developed and so we have no understanding as to why these men are so consumed by her.

Ed Uyeshima French farce is an acquired taste, especially since a lot of the sensibilities that drive the plots of such confections are uniquely Gallic in nature. Directed by Pierre Salvadori, this 2005 movie, a spirited throwback to an earlier time in French cinema, is no exception, as it plays like a shaggy-dog, transatlantic re-take on Frank Oz's "What About Bob?" with unsettling traces of Adrian Lyne's "Fatal Attraction" thrown in for good measure. For those who don't embrace this type of farce easily, the film's central flaw is its strenuous premise - that a Good Samaritan who saves a man from suicide has an obligation to ensure that person no longer has a reason to end his life, no matter what it takes.Credited to four writers (not a good sign), the paper-thin plot focuses on Antoine, a dedicated restaurant maître d', who literally stumbles upon the hapless Louis, who is about to hang himself in the throes of a failed relationship. Antoine saves the near-catatonic Louis and starts to mend his life, first by retrieving a suicide note from Louis's grandparents, putting Louis up in his apartment much to the chagrin of Antoine's sensible girlfriend Christine, and then trying to reunite Louis with his object of obsession, Blanche. The rest is pretty predictable, though there are some nice slapstick scenes interspersed here and there, for instance, the interview and the lobster with the curling tail. By the way, the food at the fictitious Chez Jean restaurant looks wonderful, thanks to Gilles Henry's rich cinematography.Daniel Auteuil, France's favorite actor, is the one saving grace of the film as he plays Antoine with some sense of comedy skill and befuddled vulnerability, although his character becomes increasingly disconnected with rational behavior as the movie lurches along. As Louis, José Garcia plays an impossible role as well as can possibly be expected, but the character's intolerable nature finally gets the best of him. As Blanche, the woman in between, Sandrine Kiberlain is wan and sallow, hardly a presence that would elicit such adoring behavior. Better is Marilyne Canto, who as Christine, is the only one who seems to represent a reasonable viewer perspective. It all ends predictably though hardly satisfactorily. The movie is intermittently amusing, oddly fitful for the most part, but more pervasively frustrating for the unfortunate premise by which it all hangs so precariously. The DVD has no significant extras.

gradyharp It seems when it comes to romantic comedies the French have the corner on the market and technique. APRES VOUS is a bit of pastiche with a storyline that borders on absurd, but in the hands of director Pierre Salvadori it becomes not only an enjoyable farce, but also a tender little statement about compassion.Antoine (Daniel Anteuil) is the fastidious and ultra compassionate manager of a high-class restaurant who bends over backwards for his staff, his patrons, and anybody who crosses his path who appears needy. He ends up making his girlfriend Christine (Marilyne Canto) take second place to his humanitarian concerns and this puts a strain on his relationship. One evening in a rush to meet Christine he encounters Louis (José Garcia) who is in the process of hanging himself in the park, his desired finale to a life of frustration and loss of his girlfriend Blanche (Sandrine Kiberlain). Naturally Antoine rescues him, feeds him, even brings him home, all the while putting his life on hold to help Louis heal his wounds. Louis is most concerned about the loss of Blanche and Antoine immediately commits his efforts to find her, woo her back for Louis (including revealing Blanche's current boyfriend's infidelity) - but in the process there develops a mutual attraction between Antoine and Blanche! Antoine arranges for Louis to get a job at his restaurant despite Louis' depression and lack of training. Just when everything seems to be turning out for the best, Christine leaves Antoine, and the circumstances surrounding Antoine's salvage of Louis' life change and the ending is somewhat of a French twist! The acting is fine, the pacing is fine, the only problem is with the characters themselves: we soon tire of Antoine's absurd selflessness and Louis' nerdy helplessness and that hampers the identification with these characters. Other than that the film is a brisk, sweet little French farce that leaves you humming. Grady Harp

Atticus Madison If you have a mind that is not mush from explosion, gun and alien movies, this will assure you that great cinema is still possible.The writing is fantastic and so nimble that your mind dances a duet with the production. Twists and turns and planting/payoff of clues is done with excellent timing, always assuming that the audience has functioning brains. Humor and love mix a great cocktail in this Cyrano-esquire beauty of a film. Nice not to be insulted with the obvious or with over explanation.The acting? To watch M. Auteuil's face go through its paces in any one scene is to watch genius portraying human character with such understanding and subtlety that we cannot miss a great part of the story that would, in another actor's hands, be obscured. M. Garcia is a great and pleasurable surprise for me; I hope you have seen him in other flix; I will look for him.Ah, the directing. Such a perfect grasp of timing!! Not too fast or slow and always attentive to bringing out the best of the great writing and actors.Did I say I liked it? Yup. Even for fans of Auteuil, this is an all time great. See it!!