Quatre étoiles (2006)

Director:

Christian Vincent

Writers:

Olivier Dazat (scenario and dialogue) &
Christian Vincent (scenario and dialogue)

Release Date:

3 May 2006 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Franssou, a charming Parisian English teacher, who shares part of her life with a boring middle-aged lover...

Plot Keywords:

Riviera | Cannes France | Paris France

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Isabelle Carré	...	France "Franssou" Dumanoir
José Garcia	...	Stéphane Lachesnaye
François Cluzet	...	René
Jean-Paul Bonnaire	...	Jacky Morestel
Michel Vuillermoz	...	Marc
Mar Sodupe	...	Christina
Guilaine Londez	...	Marianne
Charline Paul	...	La voisine
Olivier Dazat	...	Casteldi
Luis Rego	...	Robert
Renée Le Calm	...	Mlle Poilloux
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Éliane Adatto	...	Concierge
Vincent Andrieu	...	Employé notaire
Guillaume Bacquet
Marcelle Barreau
Jean-Claude Bolle-Reddat	...	Réceptionniste
Joseph Braconnier	...	Bagagiste
Claire Charré	...	Conseillère bancaire
Marius Colucci	...	Employé de réception
Jean-Louis Combelles	...	Maître d'hôtel
Fernand Dalmasso	...	Automobiliste
Georges Eon
Sébastien Féron	...	Loueur de voiture
Raymond Gil	...	Notaire
Colette Grivet	...	Femme de ménage
Stéphane Jouin	...	Barman
Gérard Jumel	...	Directeur
Béatrice Khebizi
Johnny Luchenne
Ham-Chau Luong	...	Couple asiatique
Philippe Manesse	...	Homme hippodrome
Richard Morgiève	...	Prêtre
Kim Nhan
Michel Ouimet
Patrick Palmero	...	Roberto
Hoan Pham	...	Couple asiatique
Philippe Smail	...	Bruno
Claude Testoris
Aurélie Valat	...	Secrétaire du notaire
Marion Waternaux	...	Serveur sri lankais

Also Known As:

Four Stars (Australia) (TV title)

Runtime:

France:106 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Germany:o.Al.

Filming Locations:

Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Fidélité Productions

Soundtrack:

Don't go breaking my heart

Light-hearted fun with great dialogues

When I first watched this movie, I had absolutely no clue as to what it was about - perhaps one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much, since I (apparently unlike the other people who commented) didn't expect it to be a romantic comedy.

The movie itself is very surprising and funny - the story is that of Franssou, a young woman who inherits a large sum of money and decides to live it out in Cannes. There she meets Stéphane, a conman who desperately needs money... and from then on, the plot evolves into a delightful love story where Franssou tries to con Stéphane into admitting he's in love with her.

The dialogues were amazing and served by the acting: José Garcia was wonderful in his role - sure of himself and macho when conning people while sometimes completely baffled when faced with Carré's cheeky Franssou; Cluzet's René... I can't even begin to define how much the character made me laugh. The use of a few running jokes (René's obsession with cars, the Asiatic tourists at the hotel) didn't hamper the movie but indeed made it even more enjoyable and I can't help but find the writing truly wonderful. Another plus is Luis Rego's role in the movie - the man is always funny.

To address some of the other commenter's criticism, I'd like to say that: 1) While the movie does work with the same theme great American comedies of the 50's do, it uses their basic premise and works on it to achieve something different and new which, IMHO, is worth seeing. 2) Re: Mr Bowen's idea that because Stéphane is French-Arab, the movie is a parable for... well, he doesn't actually say, but apparently it's bad. I'm amused by that reaction because Stéphane's ancestry is not a plot-point in the movie - indeed it is not mentioned at all, which makes me wonder how he got "French-Arab" from an actor of Spanish decent. The film is a romantic comedy, stop trying to see metaphors on society in it.

This movie is basically good, light-hearted fun. Watch it and you'll have a smile on your face for the rest of the day - it's the best thing that can be said about a romantic comedy.