The art of the rom-com is to still be funny
“It’s like being in a movie!” This is what a rich American society lady tells her Spanish maid when she needs a 14th to avoid an unlucky number of guests at her fancy dinner, and orders the servant to dress up and fill in. Later, when this unlikely premise puts the maid next to a wealthy art dealer, she rattles on about how he reminds her of Hugh Grant.
But make no mistake: In spite of mistaken identities, romantic entanglements and even the occasional bit of stammering, Madame is not a Hugh Grant rom- com. Paris- born Amanda Sthers, making her English- l anguage debut, throws in too much of her native country’s je ne sais quoi; very adult adultery, ennui, the nouveau riche — bon Dieu, it’s almost impossible to talk about this film in English!
Maria the maid is played by Rossy de Palma, slumming mightily. David the art dealer — who of course falls in love with her — is Michael Smiley of Northern Ireland, who tells her that all British Islanders look like Hugh Grant.
And the vapid, rather mean- spirited American is Anne ( Toni Collette), young second wife to Bob ( Harvey Keitel), and worried that maybe she’s getting too old even for that role.
Mean- spiritedness not only runs in the family, it threatens to sour the mood of the film. David thinks Maria is some sort of Spanish aristocrat hiding out in Paris, because Bob’s feckless son ( Tom Hughes) plants the idea in his head, apparently on a whim. Anne is determined to tear this union apart, even while embarking on her own tryst. And Bob only wants them together until the dealer can authenticate his Caravaggio so it can be sold off to help clear his debts.
Only Maria seems to be without fault, and if you watch the film you’ ll see where that gets her. As for the rest of them — well, the best that can be said is that the actors are all first- rate. The characters they play, on the other hand, may leave you feeling a bit down.
I think it was the English philosopher Hugh Grant who said: “Romantic comedies are often very romantic but seldom very funny.”
½