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I have not
experienced a more wonderfully jubilant film than Patrice
Leconte’s My Best Friend all year, but this fact
unfortunately seems to depress me more than uplifts me. Said
depression has nothing to do with the content of the film—after
all, it is one of the best I have seen all year—but rather
concerns the realization that the average American will never
see (let alone hear of) the picture. Sure, this may be the case
with dozens and dozens of delightful foreign releases that,
every year, open to dazzling reviews but never measure up at the
box office. But there’s something about My Best Friend’s
frothy wholesomeness and charming candor that makes it the ideal
summer picture. After having to endure the overwrought struggles
of pirates in search of treasure and the moral dilemmas of a
certain teenage wizard in order to squeeze any amount of “fun”
out of my Beach Season multiplex experiences, it was a pleasant
surprise for me to be able to so effortlessly enjoy such a gem
of a film. What a letdown to know that the casual filmgoer will
never be able to embrace the simple joys of My Best Friend’s
compassionate characters and witty dialogue due to the film’s
lack of commercial exposure.
Veteran French
actor Daniel Auteuil plays Francois, a stone-faced
antiques-dealer whose only real passion in life is his work. One
night, when at dinner with his colleagues, Francois’ business
partner Catherine (Julie Gayet) realizes that Francois has no
real friends. Francois naively denies Catherine’s realization
and, at this, she dares him introduce her to who he considers
his best friend. The two make a bet: if Francois cannot come up
with this best friend in ten days, he will owe Catherine the
€200,000 Greek vase he acquired on company-dollar` during the
afternoon prior.
As he becomes
increasingly discouraged by ruffling through his address book
and unsuccessfully trying to reconnect with long-lost
acquaintances, Francois constantly finds himself being consoled
by his regular cab-driver, the amiable and sociable Bruno (Dany
Boon). Bruno, an everyman who spends his spare time indulging in
massive quantities of random trivia, begins to teach Francois
how to forge friendships. Before long, the two have become
friends themselves, and Francois finally begins to understand
why this type of bond is so highly valued.
On paper, My
Best Friend may sound like either A) a sappy lecture on the
importance of human relationships or B) a strange,
existentialist French film about male-bonding. Thanks to the
deft hand of versatile director Leconte, the movie never
ventures into either territory. Leconte recognizes the fact that
Francois is a bit of an asshole, and at first makes a jovial
mockery of him as he pathetically tries to find a best friend.
In fact, My Best Friend takes on a rather limited amount
of literal qualities: it’s a wild farce that just so happens to
have a warm heart and deep understanding of its characters’
emotions. Francois’ isolated personality is often used as a
simple tool to create some very funny laughs, but this is
beautifully balanced by the themes pertaining to the nuanced
friendship that the character develops with Bruno. The film is
unexpectedly charming in the way that is able to simultaneously
manipulate its characters and allow them to naturally progress
and interact.
Not to mention,
if all of that wasn’t enough, the movie has one of the craziest,
most daring, swing-for-the fences third-act finales I’ve ever
seen. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that it contains a
just downright loopy depiction of the French version of “Who
Wants to Be a Millionaire?” that is unlike anything else the
silver-screen will ever showcase. Like the rest of My Best
Friend, the sequence is lovable and spirited.
-Danny Baldwin,
Bucket Reviews
Review Published
on: 8.6.2007
Screened on:
8.4.2007 at the Landmark Hillcrest in San Diego, CA.
My Best Friend is rated PG-13 and runs
94 minutes.
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