Three out of
Five stars
Running time:
90 mins
Watchable romantic comedy with a sharp script and strong performances, but it's slightly let down by a lack of chemistry between the two leads.
What's it all about?
Alain Chabat stars as Luis, a successful 43-year-old who has every intention of remaining single, thanks to the daily pampering he receives from his widowed mother and five sisters. However, when his family decides that it's finally time for him to marry, they launch a relentless campaign to find him a wife, sending him on a series of disastrous blind dates.
Fortunately, Luis has the perfect plan: he'll find a woman and pay her to pose as his fiancee, only to dump him at the altar, thereby ensuring that no one will ever mention marriage to him again. When he meets his best friend's unemployed sister, Emma (Charlotte Gainsbourg), it seems like a match made in heaven but when the big day arrives, things take an unexpected turn.
The Good
The witty script adheres so rigidly to the standard three-act rom-com template that an American remake seems like a dead cert – no doubt it'll show up as an Ashton Kutcher vehicle in a couple of years or so. There are several good lines and the plot takes some pleasing twists and turns on its way to the inevitable resolution.
Gainsbourg is excellent as Emma and the film finds the perfect subplot for her underlying sadness. However, Chabat is possibly too good at playing stand-offish arrogant types (amusingly, he was Caesar in Asterix and Cleopatra), because Luis isn't a particularly likeable character and it's difficult to see what Emma would see in him.
The Bad
The lack of chemistry between the two leads means that the romance element remains unconvincing but there's still plenty of comedy in the interactions between the characters, particularly when Emma is instructed to behave badly and the family keeps making excuses for her.
Worth seeing?
In short, I Do is an entirely watchable French rom-com that makes up in comedy what it lacks in romance.