runamokprods I found I liked this admittedly sometimes uneven French comedy/drama about love, marriage and fidelity much more the 2nd time around. Yes, there are still moments that are banal and cliché'. And yes some of the supporting characters tend towards stereotypes. But there's a life and a playfulness to the film, an almost delirious sense of energetic film- making, peppered with both a truly odd but effective Johnny Depp cameo, and some great rock songs popping up along the way. The basic story exploring the inherent rockiness of marriage may be old hat, but the cinematic approach and the performances (especially Charlotte Gainsbourg's irresistible young wife and mother) make many of the old ideas often feel new.A film of memorable moments; sexy, complicated, funny and sad. Much like love it can bit over sweet, or painful, but is very worth the time

gradyharp "Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants" ("Happily Ever After") is a cleverly written examination of contemporary views on love, lust, marriage, infidelity, and the single life. Writer/Director/Actor Yvan Attal has come up with a winner, an entertaining, funny, and ultimately thoughtful treatise on how we cope with partnering.Three men work together in a car dealership. Vincent (Yvan Attal) is the apparently happily married man with a beautiful wife Gabrielle (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and child. Georges (Alain Chabat) on the other hand is in a tumultuous marriage with Nathalie (Emmanuelle Seigner) who has gender issues that go far beyond feminism and negatively influence their child. Fred (Alain Cohen) is single, bedding every lovely woman he encounters, balancing trysts between mornings, afternoons, and evenings and is deeply envied for his Don Juanism. But Fred actually longs for the sense of belonging that married men enjoy.The men's lives intertwine on many levels. Most important, we discover that Vincent has a lover (Angie David) despite his idyllic married life and while it is Georges whom one would expect to seek solace from a lover, he remains faithful to his nagging wife! Gabrielle senses Vincent's affair and encounters a sexy man in a music shop (Johnny Depp) who begins to preoccupy her thoughts. She is a real estate broker and comes close to an assignation with a client but remains faithful. All the while she daydreams about her brief encounter with Depp and satisfies her wandering eye with those memories. Fred discovers that one of his paramours is pregnant and happily decides to leap into the married fray. The only 'adults' sharing advice here are Vincent's long married parents (Anouk Aimée and Claude Berri in very welcome comeback cameos!) and it is this 'standard' that adds the final humor to the film.The manner in which all three men deal with their living situations asks as many questions as it gives answers. Attal finds joy in all forms of coupling and is careful to offer all sides of decisions his characters make in arriving at what provides them happiness. This is a smart movie with terrific twists. There is just enough slapstick (an all out food fight between Vincent and Gabrielle - real life husband and wife team Attal and Gainsbourg - that proves to be one of the fun-loving bits of silliness that binds their marriage) to keep the mood light. Not a profound film, but a joyous French comedy handled by total pros! In French and English with subtitles. Recommended. Grady Harp

imriej4566 Once again, Yvan Attal brings us his exploration into temptation. His previous film, 'Ma Femme est une Actress', was a dark comedy about a man paranoid that his actress wife (Charlotte Gainsbourg) was being bedded by her leading actors. Gainsbourg returns as Attal's on screen wife for this, his second feature. Infidelity is the main topic of discussion as we follow three friends and their lives, which seem to revolve around sex, or lack thereof. Like a modern update of Yves Robert's 'Pardon Mon Affaire', Attal's use of humor helps placate the true sadness of the storyline.Vincent (Attal) and Georges (Chabat) are both married with a child. Vincent has, what his two friends perceive as, a happy marriage. He has a beautiful wife, Gabrielle, and a playful child. If they argue, it is quickly defused, and life is loving again. George, on the other hand, is constantly arguing with his nagging wife (Seigner), much to the chagrin of the quiet, East Indian neighbors. George is jealous of Fred (Cohen), the swinging bachelor who is constantly juggling a schedule of liaisons with a selection of beautiful women. George would love nothing better than to leave his wife, or at the very least, have an affair. But he doesn't have the guts, and if truth were told, he really does love her. Ironically, it is Fred who is jealous of his friends, as he longs for the commitment in a steady relationship. (WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD)But as we quickly discover, all is not perfect in paradise, as we see Vincent is having an affair unbeknownst to not only his wife, but also his friends. Gabrielle soon has a feeling about her husband's infidelity, but does not confront him, hoping instead that he will work it out of his system. We as the audience hope so too, since Vincent begins to come across as the cad destined to screw things up. There doesn't seem to be a rational reason for his straying, other than perhaps a change of scenery or the sexual excitement of a tryst. As in 'Actrice', we see one partner's paranoia for the other's fidelity. This time, it's the female perspective as Gabrielle, on a holiday with her son, considers the possibility of an affair herself. Thrown into all this is a few interesting cameo appearances – Producer/ Director Claude Berri (Manon Des Sources) and Anouk Aimee (Un homme et une femme) play Vincent's parents, and Johnny Depp, who's dialogue-free encounter with Gainsbourg in a music store is rife with sexual tension and desire.I found the film very enjoyable. Not completely a romantic comedy, but like 'Actrice' Attal reigns in both the humor and the drama to give a balancing act of non-judgmental reality. The soundtrack literally rocks, as Radiohead, Cinematic Orchestra, Cousteau, and the Velvet Underground help get Attal's message across. (Methinks he was a music video director in another life.)Highly recommended. 7/10(Note: The direct translation of the title, 'They Married and Had Lots of Children', differs from the English title '…And They Lived Happily Ever After' given.)

linda-164 A very charming romantic drama. The cast and story are top notch. Although I have seen these actors in other films, they created such rich characters I felt that I was meeting them for the first time. Some of the film was hilarious, some was sad, some brought on some deja vu for the events many people can relate to in their own lives. Whatever the emotion of the scene, it all seemed quite realistic. I would recommend this to all audiences. I saw it in French with English subtitles. It seemed like everyone else in the theatre was as interested in the movie as I was too. It was a pretty hip contemporary story. The film ran for 105 minutes but I would have liked more - maybe Part II?