HEARTBREAKER
Directed by Pascal Chaumeil
Produced by Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou & Zeitoun
Written by Laurent Zeitoun, Jeremy Doner & Yoann Gromb
Released by IFC Films
French with English subtitles
France/Monaco. 104 min. Not Rated
With Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis, Julie Ferrier, François Damiens, Helena Noguerra & Andrew Lincoln

French cinema certainly isn’t all high-brow New Wave these days, but Heartbreaker, a by-the-book, Hollywood-style rom-com, still seems somewhat unexpected. Fortunately, Romain Duris lends his unyielding talent to this Dirty Rotten Scoundrels meets Failure to Launch bauble, effortlessly sparing it from mediocrity or sap.

He’s Alex, a super suave hustler who is paid (by concerned family and friends) to break up unsavory relationships by seducing the woman, proving to her that there’s more to life than her dead-weight partner can offer, and then setting her free with a goodbye kiss (this gigolo doesn’t put out). A husband/wife team (François Damiens and Julie Ferrier) lurks in the shadows for each job, aiding Alex with James Bond-level gadgets and sleuthing. These two pick up most of the slack for the film’s slapstick antics, which Damiens pulls off with an uncanny resemblance to Rhys Ifans of Notting Hill fame.

For our swarthy lover boy, one job is easier than the next, but when he’s paid to split up gorgeous heiress Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) from her ostensibly perfect (and very rich) English fiancé, this heartbreaker puts his own heart on the line. Luckily, the film doesn’t get too much schlockier than this hackneyed premise. Basically it’s a guiltless guilty pleasure—the French sensibility sparing us from any long “I love you” speeches or emotional confessions.

As part of the seduction, Alex learns the entire “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life” choreography from Dirty Dancing, Juliette’s favorite flick, and recreates the dance in its entirety the night before her wedding. Conscripting this beloved classic to tickle any Dirty Dancing aficionados in the audience may be a cheap trick, but it works beautifully, indulging us and Juliette alike.

While some acting greats take easy roles in trifling movies (think Ocean’s Eleven) only to coast through the scenes as their own charming selves, Duris has a lovely habit of fully inhabiting his characters, adding his protean savvy even to this throwaway role. The result is a great actor playing a diverting character in a so-so film—it may not be worth a trip to the movies, but certainly a curl-up on the couch. Yana Litovsky
September 10, 2010