Some of the best French films of the past 20 years have been made by Patrice Leconte.
My Best Friend (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:85
Fresh:64
Rotten:21
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: Although the plot may sound contrived, the performances of Daniel Auteuil and Dany Boon manage to turn My Best Friend into an earnest and witty romp.
Theatrical Release:Jul 13, 2007 Limited
Box Office: $1,062,504
Synopsis: Francois is a middle-aged antique dealer. He has a stylish apartment and a fabulous life, but at a dinner with a group he considers his dearest acquaintances, he is blindsided by the revelation... Francois is a middle-aged antique dealer. He has a stylish apartment and a fabulous life, but at a dinner with a group he considers his dearest acquaintances, he is blindsided by the revelation that none of them actually likes him. He's arrogant, self-centered and harsh, and they don't believe he knows the meaning of friendship. His business partner Catherine makes him a bet: if he can produce his best friend, she will let him keep the massive Greek vase he acquired that afternoon on the company tab. If not, it's hers. Having accepted the wager, Francois naively tears through his address book, trying to shoehorn an increasingly unlikely series of contacts into the all-important role. Moving through Paris, he keeps encountering a trivia-spouting, big-hearted cabbie named Bruno. Bruno's chatty, lowbrow ways grate against Francois's designer temperament, but he covets the other man's easy way with people. He convinces Bruno to teach him how to make friends and sets about learning the "three S's" - being sociable, smiling and sincere - though they don't come easy. Ultimately, Francois victory will depend on Bruno's naivete in playing along, but what's the cost of cheating at friendship? Patrice Leconte, one of France's most renowned writer-directors, has often explored the theme of friendship in his award-winning films including MAN ON THE TRAIN, INTIMATE STRANGERS and THE HAIRDRESSER --© IFC Films [More]
Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Julie Gayet, Dany Boon, Jacques Mathou
Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Julie Gayet, Dany Boon, Jacques Mathou, Olivier Dazet
Director: Patrice Leconte
Director: Patrice Leconte
Screenwriter: Jerome Tonnerre
Producer: Olivier Delbosc, Marc Missonnier
Composer: Xavier Dermeliac
Studio: IFC Films
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Reviews for My Best Friend
Leconte and his co-writers and, especially, his actors take great pains to make this a story about two men you might actually encounter and not the sorts of cardboard figures that only appear in movies.
Leconte's film is nothing if not pleasantly entertaining in any language, and it will invariably get you thinking about whoever it is that qualifies as your best friend.
An unconvincing replica of the dizzy situation comedies that Hollywood poured out in double and triple bills in the thirties and forties (and went on making in the guise of TV sitcoms well into the nineties).
You'll laugh, but you may also be counting your friends on your fingers when you leave.
It was directed by Patrice Leconte, who makes intelligent films combining sympathy for his characters with a quick wit, a dark undertow and a love of human peculiarity.
The movie's reptilian setup doesn't do much to nurture a sense of mirth, and Auteuil is too likable an actor to make an effective SOB.
Leconte's writing is tight and nimble, and while the tests of the duo's friendship are facile, under the circumstances, they make sense.
None of this is exactly revolutionary, but the movie is thoughtful and, well, friendly.
Poke through the easy sentimentality of My Best Friend and you'll find insightful and observant commentary on the need for connection and consumerism as an unsatisfactory antidote to alienation.
Expect to see this French film Americanized in the near future, but that's no reason to pass on the original.
Even if making friends is a task that usually lives on 'Sesame Street,' it's comforting to see a socially stunted man finally asking how to get there.
If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog, but if you want a friend in Paris, get a checkbook. That's the gist of Patrice Leconte's cynical-to-sentimental arc of a story upon which the clever Frenchman's new film, My Best Friend, is built.
You know that certain kind of foreign film? The one that just sort of sits there amiably and gets called stuff like "heartwarming" and "delightful" on the poster? ... My Best Friend fits snugly in the category above.
Infected with a joie de vivre that renders the project far more than a stock buddy picture.
...ripples with ironies as it approaches the beloved genre of the buddy movie from an initial premise of friendlessness.
A premise as love-it-or-leave-it as My Best Friend's requires a sure hand to steer it safely away from the excesses of wackiness or sentiment. Delightfully, the expert Patrice Leconte produces an unlikely comedy charmer.
Latest News for My Best Friend
September 10, 2008:
Wes Anderson Makes a New Best Friend ![]()
Universal and Imagine have lined up Wes Anderson to write (and possibly direct) a remake of the 2006 Patrice Leconte-directed French comedy "Mon meilleur ami." More...
October 14, 2007:
Another fascinating double character study courtesy of Patrice Leconte. ![]()
More...
July 12, 2007:
Critical Consensus: "Harry Potter" Is Certified Fresh; "Captivity" Fails To Capture Critics' Hearts
This week at the movies, we've got the latest in the "Harry Potter" series ("Order of the Phoenix," starring Daniel Radcliffe), and a tale of kidnapping and... More...
June 12, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review. ![]()
More...
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