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APRÈS
VOUS
Après
Vous (After You) was the funniest
of three French comedies in the 2003 Lincoln
Center Rendez-Vous series, showcasing
French films that rarely hit our fair
shores. Two of the films also shared similar
themes and settings—money, love, and restaurants.
And now, only two years later, American
audiences can finally enjoy the special
pleasures of Après Vous (After You).
Its
comical ménage a quatre includes
Antoine (Daniel Auteuil/ Sade ),
a genial maitre d', and Louis (Jose Garcia/
Beaumarchais ), an unemployed
potential suicide. The happy-go-lucky
Antoine rescues the hapless Louis from
his suicide attempt and then inexplicably
takes on the responsibility for his rehabilitation.
Louis has failed at every pathetic job
he's ever held—the list is not only sad
but fall-on-the-floor funny. And he's
also lost Blanche, the florist/love of
his life.
On
the distaff side, Sandrine Kiberlain reunites
with her Beaumarchais co-star
Garcia, bringing her wistful, waifish
beauty to Blanche's slightly dipsy character.
In his heroic attempts to save Louis,
Antoine ignores his own very sensible
girlfriend, Christine (Maryline Canto),
then not only hires Louis as sommelier
at his restaurant (with the inevitable
devastating results), but searches out
Blanche to reconcile with Louis.
Since
this is a French film, Jacques may not
get Jill and Louis may not get Blanche,
but there is a raffish rondelet of lovers
and a Gallic-style happy ending of sorts
for all. Although it's not a musical,
I dare anyone to leave and not start whistling
the film's catchy theme song, "Allo
Charley, Tango Papa," by Mort Shuman
of "Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well..."
fame.
A
word about Auteil, who (like his
compère Depardieu) is the kind of
supreme actor capable of convincing an
audience in any role. Whether it's comic,
tragic, historical, pastoral--well, anything--he's
equally credible as a hunchback swashbuckler
(Le Bossu) , a Parisian nebbish
(The Closet), or the malevolent
Marquis de Sade. This no doubt accounts
for his 11th César nomination for
Après Vous. (For the record, Depardieu
has 14 nominations and each actor has
won twice.)
Now
if only some savvy distributor would also
bring that other working class comedy
(“Le Cout de la Vie”) to America, especially
since both films fairly scream for instant
American remakes. Think Tom Hanks
as Andy (Antoine) and Will Ferrell as
Lou (Louis) with Sandra Bullock as Blanche
and…well, you get the picture!
Leslie (Hoban) Blake
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