Heartbreaker [Import]

HEARTBREAKER ('L'ARNACOEUR') is a delightful bit of French fluff, created as only the French know how. There are 'quotes' from certain films and songs that mix the two main characters together and add to the meringue of the farce. Based on a light story by Laurent Zeitoun, Jeremy Doner, and Yhan Gromb and directed with a fine sense of comic timing by Pascal Chaumeil, this is one of those examples of the farces the French do so well.

Alex Lipp (Romain Duris), his sister Mélanie (Julie Ferrier) and her husband Marc (François Damiens) run a little business: they coordinate efforts to breakup undesired relationships for pay. After a few examples of how the trio works its magic, an assignment takes them to Monaco where they are hired to stop the marriage between Juliette Van Der Becq (Vanessa Paradis) and her wealthy humanitarian fiancé Jonathan Alcott (Andrew Lincoln) - in 10 days time! Alex is avoiding previous client debts represented by a bodyguard Goran (Jean-Marie Paris) but plunges into the formula courtship destruction mode with Juliette; the difference this time is that Juliette seems happily ensconced in the marriage plans and has little time for Alex's plans. But of course through the period of time allotted, Juliette finds qualities in Alex that are missing from her 'perfect' fiancé and Alex breaks his cardinal rule and falls in love with his marked client Juliette. The manner in which the story is resolved is clever and entertaining and heartwarming.

This may not be a great movie but it is a well-acted refreshing little romp to cleanse the palette! In French and English with subtitles. Grady Harp, November 10

There have been a lot of romantic comedies about prostitutes and gigolos, but "Heartbreaker" (L'arnacoeur) puts a new twist on the lover-for-hire theme. Alex (Romain Duris) specializes in breaking up relationships. With the aid of his sister Mélanie (Julie Ferrier) and brother-in-law Marc (François Damiers), Alex saves women from unhappy relationships by seducing the ladies away from their beaus. He's a pro. And he owes people money. So, when a rich flower magnate hires him to break up his daughter Juliette's (Vanessa Paradis) engagement to a very nice, affluent British man (Andrew Lincoln), Alex accepts. But this case presents some problems: The couple are genuinely happy and well-suited. And Alex is smitten with Juliette.

Most of the movie takes place in Monte Carlo, where the bride is planning her wedding and Alex is attempting to be a convincing bodyguard. Since Juliette is being manipulated, she is the straight man. Her dilemma seems real. Many of the laugh-out-loud moments are thanks to the antics of Mélanie and Marc. Their little team is much too high-tech for such a ramshackle operation, but that's the kind of suspension of disbelief that comedies can get away with. I think there should be a rule that romantic comedies not run longer than 90 minutes, and this one runs 105, but it's fun and makes good use of the new twist on an old theme. The only bonus features on the DVD (MPI 2011) are a trailer (2  min) and a TV spot (30 sec). Subtitles are available in English SDH, English, and Spanish.

Let me state upfront that I am a pretty big fan of Vanessa Parais, the French singer/actress (and partner of Johnny Dep, incidentally). So when I saw this movie recently at my local library, I just had to pick it up.

"Heartbreaker" (105 min.) brings the story of Alex (played by Romain Duris), whose job it is to break up couples where the woman is clearly unhappy by seducing the woman in the relationship. Alex gets hired by the dad of Juliette (played by Vanessa Paradis) to try and break up the woman's relationship and pending marriage. Alex poses as a newly-hired bodyguard of Juliette, but then apparently seems to break the cardinal rule: as the movie progresses he actually falls in love (or does he?) with Juliette, who seems perfectly happy with her upcoming wedding. You'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

This movie was a massive hit in Europe last year. While there is nothing earth-shattering about this movie, time flew by as I watched this. The main actors ooze charm, and it's always a pleasure to see Vanessa Paradis. In all, I would recommend this if you are in the mood for a light-hearted French rom-com.