MartinHafer A few days ago, I saw a terrible romantic comedy that I reviewed. Most of the problem with it was the atrocious writing and I ended my article suggesting you try another film--ANY other film. Well, I just saw a wonderful romantic comedy--one that I heartily endorse and hope you see with someone you love. This is THE film to see instead. Sadly, however, because it's a French language film, many folks won't even consider it.The film is about two amazingly shy people--so shy that she faints when she is nervous and he tends to run away when he gets a case of the nerves! How the two finally get together is what makes this an ultra-charming and delightful film.It begins with Angélique (Isabelle Carré ) going on job interview to become a chocolatier. What she doesn't know is that the man interviewing her, Jean-René (Benoît Poelvoorde), is also incredibly shy. She's so shy that she doesn't even tell him that she wants to make chocolates and he's so shy that he doesn't even tell her she's been hired! Eventually, she somehow figures out she's been hired but reluctantly goes out to sell his sub-par chocolates because he thinks she wants to be a salesperson. But chocolate shops don't want his candies and unless something happens, she realizes that the company is bound to go bankrupt. What you then learn is that she is a world-class chocolatier--but is so shy that she cannot bring herself to tell anyone that she is the 'mysterious hermit' who has previously gained nationwide fame for the chocolates. How can she manage to help Jean-René without revealing who she really is? And, more importantly, how can the pair ever get together romantically considering they are absolutely hopeless with the opposite sex? So why did I like this film so much? Well, the characters are so cute and adorable you can't help but care about them and love them. This means that the actors, director (Jean-Pierre Améris) and writer (Jean-Pierre Améris also co-wrote the film) did a fabulous job in this film. Additionally, the film is so totally unique and so amazingly clever that you cannot help but enjoy. Try this film--I pretty much guarantee that if you watch it you will enjoy it. And, if you have Netflix, it's now available. Or, since it's such a great film, you might just want to buy this film from Amazon for less than $14--a real bargain!

Christine Merser Why do the French do everything with so much more finesse than we do? Jean-Pierre Ameris brings us the simplest of love stories, with characters who touch your soul, and with humorous twists that surprise and delight. Romantics Anonymous is a must-see. Must I tell you.Halfway through watching this fine film (on Netflix) I felt I could not go another minute without a piece of chocolate. We are not talking about a Hershey bar; I had to drive sixteen miles each way to Chatham Manor Chocolates for a few of their chocolate-covered caramels (without the salt) and then hightail it back to my house to watch the second half of the movie while savoring the sensuous chocolate in the way the movie demands. Clearly Director and Writer, Ameris, like most French people, knows his chocolate, and the movie is better for it. "The flavors will penetrate the chocolate. Impregnate it." Sexual. Sensual. Sensational. To ensure you need not leave in the middle, be sure and have some really fine chocolate on hand.Did I mention it's funny? Laugh-out-loud funny even as it makes you feel empathy for the painful way these two people, Jean-Rene, the chocolate factory owner, and Angelique, the secret chocolate maker, who he hires to do sales. Both of them try — and keep trying — to live in a world that is very difficult for them to navigate. He has them repeat statements just made to them in a way that is laugh out loud funny, confirming their issues. Two painfully shy people whose faces could make a hardened criminal apologize for frightening them. Two people who have a passion for chocolate and a long unfulfilled need to be loved. I loved them both. I'm so glad they loved each other.Benoit Poelvoorde, who plays Jean-Rene, is an Inspector Clouseau clone but better. While Clouseau was unaware of his own ridiculousness, our Jean-Rene Van Den Hugde is painfully aware of his. That awareness is what makes him so compelling — and a stronger character than Clouseau. His innocent presentation of his Achilles heel shyness, and his running away to regroup at every difficult moment, is moving and so very well done. And yet, he never gives up, which makes us pause to consider our own ability to walk away when the going gets tough. Isabelle Carre, Jean-Rene's Angelique, is as pure as chocolate itself. She's humble, wears a dimple next to her mouth that I have never seen the likes of on anyone before. A hopeful smile that you could practice in front of a mirror for years and never get right. The two together are magic.Ameris uses the camera in a way that follows his thought process that I haven't seen done before. For example, when Jean-Rene is interviewing Angelique for a job, the camera goes back and forth between the two over and over again, even when they aren't speaking. It helps emphasize the discomfort between them, the anxiety that silence causes for two people who are not ready for its intimacy. Back and forth, back and forth. But instead of making our heads spin, it simulates the characters' anxiety for us. Great technique. Others should try it. Works better than words.Lest you think my love is blind, there are a few flaws. There is a scene that is reminiscent of Notting Hill. In Notting Hill, Hugh Grant looks at his friends when he realizes he's made a mistake in rejecting Julia Roberts, and they all pile into a small car and speed off to correct the error before it's too late. They are all a bit ridiculous, but in a sweet way, not a silly way. I thought it was a nice scene. Romantics Anonymous has the same moment. Jean-Rene is explaining to his Keystone Cop chocolate factory workers that he has walked from the chocolate maker extraordinaire and love of his life, and they make the same plea as Hugh Grant's posse for him to get it right, and hurry. They pile into a car too small for the group and head out to find her. It's the same scene, although the Romantics Anonymous scene is ever so much better. Subtle. Stronger acting. OK, French.So two shy people meet and fall in love. They find it hard to make it work, and in the end, they know they are meant to be together. The other flaw is the ending. Running down the street leaving everyone in the church waiting for them? Not so much. Silly, and not in a good way, like Runaway Bride. (Could it be that Ameris has a Roberts/Grant thing?) It's beneath these fabulous characters. Ameris should have ended at the moment when Jean-Rene opens the wardrobe to find her waiting and directed the two to head down the hallway to their wedding. Trust me on this and edit it for the DVD version.So, load up on a few pieces of chocolate and download this fabulous film.

simona gianotti A genuine "French-made" romantic comedy, with echoes of "Chocolat" and "Amelie", starring the most suitable performers for movies like these. There's nothing extraordinary in this modern fable, but here lies its authenticity. We just find two normal adults, or maybe abnormal in their pathological timidity, who just try to come to terms with their emotions and to find a way to live and communicate them. Every next step sounds predictable, but we obviously do not look for plot twists, in pictures like these, that we want to progress and end in the exact way this movie progressed and ended, without ever sounding mawkish, and offering truly amusing moments. But the main protagonist is chocolate, with its healing power, we have all experienced, to make us feel better and to melt many emotional blocks. A truly enjoyable, heartwarming and funny picture.

CountZero313 Angélique (Isabelle Carré) is an expert chocolatier, the woman behind the legendary The Hermit who conquered all in the choco stakes. She is also cripplingly shy, and uses various ploys to hide her true nature. She gets job as a sales rep at a small chocolate makers, and embarks on a haphazard romance with the equally shy Jean-René (Benoît Poelvoorde), her erstwhile boss, all the while saving the company from bankruptcy.The film works because Carré and Poelvoorde are perfectly matched, two hapless souls inadvertently thrown together by the fates. The film does not shock or surprise, instead the satisfaction is in seeing the usual romcom set-ups pulled off with aplomb. A mix-up at the hotel sees the couple go to extremes to avoid sharing a double bed. Once love has been established a farcical car chase ensues to bring all the principals together. A psychiatrist plies Jean-René with cues to reveal his inner thoughts. At one point, he ironically repeats his father's mantra about hoping nothing happens to us. His tears seem genuine and a rare moment of depth in what is shallow but well-executed fun.The only jarring points are when the film tries too hard to be cute, the one song in the middle by Angélique being the example that comes to mind. These points ripple rather than jar, and on the whole this is wholesome, lighthearted fare that will bring a smile to you face.