Review: Shall We Kiss? (2009) *** 1/2
Julie Gayet and Michaël Cohen ask themselves: Shall We Kiss?
The romantic comedy Shall We Kiss? is the kind of sparkling frivolity that seems to be the unique province of the French. The American counterpart would be heavy on gags and light on charm with a third act denouement that has the hero and heroine finding each other on the streets of New York on New Year’s Eve – a final stab at a bit of feeling to send the couples in the audience home arm in arm. Emmanuel Mouret’s film on the other hand never breaks a sweat. It is effervescent and effortless but it’s also run through with a sobering streak of melancholy and longing that gives the story some gravity.
Traveling on business in Nantes near the Atlantic coast of France, beautiful Emelie (Julie Gayet) encounters handsome stranger Gabriel (Michaël Cohen) who gives her a ride to her hotel. There is an easy spark of romance between them and that frisson of instant attraction is hard to resist even though they’re both already involved in relationships. After all, they’re far from home and they’ll never see each other again so what’s the worst that could happen?
When Gabriel leans in for a kiss he clearly hopes will be more than the goodbye kind, Emelie almost submits but instead she pulls back. He’s disappointed, but she says she knows a story that proves a kiss is never just a kiss and that such things always lead to trouble. Undaunted, he convinces her to tell him this story over drinks in the bar.
It’s a story that makes up the second part of the film and it involves a happily married woman (Virginie Ledoyen) who agrees to an innocent kiss with her male best friend (Emmanuel Mouret). The kiss leads to an amusing and escalating series of encounters and consequences, which definitely do not turn out well for everyone involved.
That’s really all there is to it as the film switches back and forth between the two best friends and the two strangers in a vein of did-they-or-didn’t-they and will-they-or-won’t-they intrigue. It’s a sexy story that happens to play heavily into male fantasies of consequenceless encounters with tantalizing but unavailable women.
Julie Gayet is one of those ethereal European beauties that easily inspire infidelity and Michaël Cohen has just enough charm to make it look easy and obvious. Virginie Ledoyen has an innocent sexuality that makes her both beguiling and easy to forgive for cheating on a loving husband. Director Emmanuel Mouret has an innocent lost puppy quality that’s actually kind of annoying. It’s hard to tell if his character is dopey or manipulative. Neither one is very appealing and he was the weak link in the character chain.
Nevertheless, with an easy character-based humor, a handsome cast and an elegant shot of Gallic champagne fizz, Shall We Kiss? easily trumps its flaccid American counterparts. It isn’t especially deep and it doesn’t quite approach the heights of last year’s Priceless, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s a film that leaves you longing to meet a beautiful stranger in a quaint town far from home even as it offers the sobering realization that perhaps it’s better if you don’t.
Shall We Kiss? (Un Baiser S’il Vous Plait). France 2007 (released in the US in 2009). Written and directed by Emmanuel Mouret. Cinematography by Laurent Desmet. Edited by Martial Saloman. Starring Virginie Ledoyen, Emmanuel Mouret, Julie Gayet, Michaël Cohen and Stefano Accorsi. 1 hour 42 minutes. Not rated by the MPAA. 3.5 stars (out of 5).
Filed under: Reviews
Tags: Emmanuel Mouret, Julie Gayet, Laurent Desmet, Martial Saloman, Michaël Cohen, Shall We Kiss? Un Baiser S'il Vous Plait, Stefano Accorsi, Virginie Ledoyen
Just to continue to riff on Craig’s remarks about romantic and moral quandaries…
Forgive me. It’s early. I sometimes get like this in the morning.
See, stuff like that is easy for me. But then I’m a very black and white girl.
All of this is JMO…
If you’re unhappy in a relationship, then leave. You don’t drag your feet and lure an innocent third party into a disastrous triangle that’s going to implode dangerously at some point.
If you don’t want to make a commitment, DON’T. No one has to make any commitments with anyone at any point in time. EVER. But you don’t live or get involved with someone with the idea that you MIGHT be unfaithful. If you can’t be faithful, what the hell is the point of being with anyone longer than six months?
Can you have everything you want in this life? I think you can have MOST of it. Just not all at the same time.
Uh…NO. I don’t think there’s any reality to having your cake and eating it too – along with everybody else’s ice cream in the room. Open relationships are complete BS. You can only be casual with someone for a set period of time (at the beginning) and then that doesn’t work any more either.
So you either respect your partner and what you have together. Or the chickens will all come home to roost anyway. You can run. But you can’t hide.
End of story.
I’m a romantic. But I’m also a pragmatist.
With all that said, (um…yeah), I’m still dying to see this. It’s supposed to open here next month.
The reviews on RT described it as “French Woody Allen.”
Do you think that’s an accurate assessment, Craig?
I agree with you Craig, in that the French pull this kind of thing off better than anybody. In fact, usually when it is done by others it falls flat and is diced.
I read the entire plot through here (as I hung with every word in this enagaing assessment) yet, like with all films of this kind, I’ll still go into the theatre not feeling that anything has been spoiled as you attest to with your comments about the film being ‘character-based’ and dealing with ‘male fantasies.’
I guess beginning with COUSIN CUISINE, the French have produced a long line of these fluffy diversions, that are deftly acted and written, far better than their American counterparts.
As always, an exceptional and insightful essay.
The French are unbelievably awesome, let’s just say it already.
Looking forward to this, Craig!
I don’t know Miranda, the Woody Allen comparison seems like pretty high praise. I kind of see the connection, but it does a disservice to the French film in that it wouldn’t hold up.