The romantic comedy genre doesn't generally hold much appeal for me, but the promise of Michel Gondry's quirky, semi-animated approach fuelled a naive sense of optimism. This was not unfounded as the standard love story plot is pepped up with high levels of leftfield animated fun, original dream sequences and a childlike innocence to the whole concept. Gael Garcia Bernal is suitably gormless and infantile in his pursuit of the equally naive Charlotte Gainsbourg and the supporting cast ratchet up the comedy with Alain Chabat the pick of the bunch.It's all too sickly sweet for my taste though. It's a sugar coated french pastry when the whole thing cries out for a touch of sourness to balance things up. There are one or two bits that are actually funny, but an awful lot of 'smile humour.' The ending also seems to have been a bit of an afterthought.
It's an enjoyable enough romp for the quirkier minded and so much better than mass produced 'rom-coms' starring Jennifer Aniston, but sadly, it leaves you feeling disappointed and a little nauseous from all that sugary sweetness. A final word of warning for fans of Charlotte Gainsbourg; watch this before Anti-Christ, as you'll never quite look at her the same way again.
5/10
doccortex
If you like this you could try:
Everything is Illuminated, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
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