Saturday, July 5, 2008

AH! SI J'ETAIS RICHE

AH! SI J'ETAIS RICHE


Jean Pierre Darroussin, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Richard Berry


13th French Film Festival
Cinema 1, Shang Cineplex



You know how you always dream of hitting the jackpot at the lottery? Well this film explores what happens when a guy on the brink of divorce suddenly wins the top lottery prize!

This French comedy actually had all the key ingredients to make it potentially a hit. But somehow in my opinion, it fell flat. There were a lot of side plots which deviated from the main essence of the film which basically is the fact that even if you had all the money in the world it is pretty much useless if you didn't have someone meaningful in your life to enjoy it with.

Instead the film focused too much on the premise of how the main character had to go to lengths to hide his winnings so that his wife won't be entitled to it once the divorce was finalized. So for most part of the movie, it shows scenes of him going on shopping sprees, eating in a fancy restaurant then going to work and lying to his co-workers about his new suit. It should have delved deeper into the psyche of a man who suddenly finds himself with more money than he can handle. But I guess the direction of this film was more comedy than some angst filled drama.

But overall the acting of the ensemble cast was believable. The plot despite its flaws was convincing enough to keep you tuned. The fact that the main characters were salesmen of beauty products and did the rounds of the beauty parlors to peddle their wares in itself is a hilarious situation. It is entirely in French with English subtitles. Just be sure to read fast because it is mostly a dialogue driven film.

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