Romantics Anonymous (2010)

This is a delightful film...it's full of fun and silliness. Even the mandatory "humping scene" is more laughable than lewd. It's a movie that addresses the insecurities we all have had or perhaps still have. And how could anybody not fall in love with Isabelle Carre and her delightful Angelique character. It's a lighter piece or work yet it's not fluff. It addresses some serious social issues but in a delightful entertaining, engaging manner. Watching this and, recently, the splendid TV series "Engagements" (Spiral), I have developed a whole new appreciation of French cinema. In many ways it's better than British work and incomparably ahead of Hollywood's efforts. I dare you not to love this film and the people in it

Fmovies: The very words "Romantic Comedy" now inflict feelings of dread upon any sober moviegoer, especially those with a stereotypical girlfriend to entertain. Just like the musical genre was once an intelligent and stylistic way of telling an emotionally complex story, but has since become the theatrical equivalent of a mindless action blockbuster, so too has the romantic comedy lost its exciting inventiveness.

Although, an unimaginably long time ago, the mixture of colourful romance and witty humour that has the two feeding off and enriching each other was successfully used to create one delightful story. It was about a shy, hapless young bachelor who comes across a seemingly cold, unfeeling and cantankerous young woman. Under ordinary circumstances, they would never even care to look at each other, but there something unusual and convenient happens that allows the man to get up close and personal with the woman, and eventually her heart is softened and the man starts to overcome his social anxieties. Yet, alas, the truth is unravelled about this unusual and convenient event and the two are torn apart because the girl is too upset to hear an explanation, and the man is too lazy to persist and prefers to mope around at a pub where someone is playing a slow, sad tune on the piano. Luckily, the leads' wisecracking best friends are there to set them back on track and deliver a happy ending.

I'm sure this story delighted its original audience, however, since then no other story has been created using that promising combination of humour and love, but this same story has been recycled over a hundred times since, rendering the source indiscernible, and slaughtering the impact.

Thank goodness that Jean-Pierre Améris has been much more proactive and free-thinking in his approach to co-writing and directing Les émotifs anonymes, where both the guy and the girl are shy, hapless, embarrassed romantics. Although such a twist might seem like the sort of cheesy gimmick usually employed by the money-grubbing directors of a superfluous Hollywood sequel, it's surprising how much it changes and refreshes the dynamic, and how much Améris allows it do so.

Whilst he inevitably lets in some aspects of that dreaded, overused narrative, he has the courage to put down the rulebook and fly solo for quite a few scenes. Most notably, after the disastrous first date, where the ceaselessly paranoid but adorable middle-aged Jean-René Van Den Hugde (Benoît Poelvoorde) abruptly jumps ship in a fit of nerves, his lovely but hopelessly jittery employee Angélique Delange (Isabelle Carré) doesn't say a bad word against him. "Je suis nul" ("I'm hopeless") she repeats to herself after every one of these debacles, believing that she is the maniac who keeps scaring off this perfectly normal, friendly old man. Conversely, Jean-René scolds himself just as harshly. Therefore, the situation is both tragic and enjoyably ironic, giving the audience plenty of opportunities to sob and chuckle heartily. Thankfully though, these complications are never frustrating, because they are believable and in many ways relatable, and because Améris and co-screenwriter Philippe Blasband aren't delving into a bottomless bag of improbable plot points.

Another effort worth mentioning is the simultaneous capture of the joys of chocolate and the passion and ingenuity that goes into the craft, showing an impressiveness willingness to tackle more than one piece of subject matter, and not just for futu

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.

Romantics Anonymous fmovies. ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS (Les émotifs anonymes) is a wonder bit of French fluff that may seem like a little love story on the surface, but has a lot to say about our current state of relationships. Written (with Philippe Blasband) and directed by Jean-Pierre Améris this little film takes advantage of the fine comedic talents of the two stars and brings a supporting cast of of actors to the table who demonstrate how fine cameo roles can be polished.

Angélique Delange (the perky, multitalented Isabelle Carré) cannot cope with relating to people: she is a shy young student in a chocolate class taught by M. Mercier (Claude Aufaure) who rises to the top of her class as a chocolatier winning employment in the finest chocolate business in France when suddenly M. Mercier dies. Angélique is without a job and is terrified of interviewing (she belongs to a group therapy session called Romantics Anonymous where the group shares their flaws in relating to people. She sees and interview slot for a candy business owned by Jean-René Van Den Hugde (Benoît Poelvoorde) - a man who is terrified of women as he works through sessions with his therapist (Stéphan Wojtowicz). Angélique's interview goes well and she is hired on the spot - as a sales rep!

Through a series of trial and error Angélique wins the friendship of the small staff (Lorella Cravotta, Lise Lamétrie, Swann Arlaud, and Pierre Niney) who understand the business is going bankrupt and together they stage a lessons on chocolate making that results is the staff learning all the secrets for the now defunct Mercier Chocolates. Angélique and Jean- René seem to find an attraction to each other but their emotional timidity prevents them from connecting until a big break comes: the business is chosen to attend the chocolate prize competition and in the midst of the trip the two seem to overcome their handicaps. But the future isn't assured until Jean-René attends Angélique's group therapy session, a place where they both must confront their feelings, and from there on the film dashes into a fun French farce.

The film is in French with English subtitles and comes off like an uncorked bottle of fine champagne. It is a fun, light, romantic little takeoff on how so many people must join group therapy just to relate to each other. It bubbles!

Grady Harp

Romantics Anonymous (2010)

Sometimes a feelgood movie is so obvious you know at the start how it's going to end. But it feels so good it doesn't matter, and that's the way "Romantics Anonymous" works.

The leading woman Isabelle Carre ("He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not") is a sweet, cute, lovable introvert, and I suppose any movie with her in it acting vulnerable and awkward would be a winner. Next to her is a very geeky kind of leading French actor, Benoit Pelvoorde, who is utterly brilliant even if he won't quite steal your heart. Or maybe he will. Part of the movie's aim is to take two mild misfits who are lonely and yet rather wonderful inside and get the audience to identify with them.

Another major character is the little chocolate factory where they meet. Seeing the chocolates being made, and tasted, is part of the fun of the movie. Even if you don't like chocolate you'll see the pleasure of a superb high-end chocolate being developed as you watch. There are then two groups of sidekicks, one for each character. The woman goes to group therapy for her emotional issues (hence the name of the movie) and the man has his staff at the factory. All of them are, en masse, supportive and sweet.

In fact, with all this sweetness going on you might wonder how you can stand it. And I suppose that's where you appreciate that it's just an hour and a quarter. Plenty. Even at this length you yearn for some complication, or some depth. Our two lovebirds are great but they remain oddly cardboard thin, too.

It's a bit ogre-ish to complain about such a well-meaning and well-made movie. It's edited with breakneck speed, shot well, acted well, and rises up the television sit-com genre it may somehow owe something to. Give it a look. Totally fun.

If you like to come out of the theatre smiling and nodding to your fellow audience in a manner that says "that was a lovely bit of nonsense and all's well with the world" then Romantics Anonymous is the perfect antidote to the Hollywood flash, CGT and emptiness.

We all know what the outcome will be more or less from the start but the journey is the thing and for the gentlemen among us there is the beauty of Isabelle Carre to enjoy on the journey. Looking at the other reviews I haven't seen any reference to the director's tip of the hat to Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music in the scene where Angelique dances down the shopping arcade with her samples suitcase.

A little gem. Go and see it. You won't be disappointed.