French Kiss (1995)

A woman flies to France to confront her straying fiancee, but gets into trouble when the charming crook seated next to her uses her for smuggling.

Director:

Lawrence Kasdan

Writer:

Adam Brooks

Stars:

Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline, Timothy Hutton

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meg Ryan	...	Kate
Kevin Kline	...	Luc Teyssier
Timothy Hutton	...	Charlie
Jean Reno	...	Inspector Jean-Paul Cardon
François Cluzet	...	Bob
Suzan Anbeh	...	Juliette (as Susan Anbeh)
Renée Humphrey	...	Lilly
Michael Riley	...	M. Campbell
Laurent Spielvogel	...	Concierge
Victor Garrivier	...	Octave
Élisabeth Commelin	...	Claire (as Elizabeth Commelin)
Julie Leibowitch	...	Olivia
Miquel Brown	...	Sgt. Patton
Louise Deschamps	...	Jean-Paul's Girl
Olivier Curdy	...	Jean-Paul's Boy

Storyline

Kate and Charlie have a perfect life planned out before them: buying a house, marriage, kids, the whole works. Kate's fear of flying keeps her in Canada while Charlie goes to Paris for a medical convention. While there Charlie is smitten by the lovely Juliette. He calls off the wedding with Kate and she nervously boards a plane to get him back. She ends up sitting next to the petty French thief Luc Teyssier. He hides a stolen necklace and smuggled grape vine in her bag to get it through customs. Her bag is stolen, the necklace apparently lost, and Kate and Luc head to Cannes -- Luc to find the necklace and Kate get Charlie back. Along the way, Kate and Luc begin having feelings for each other -- which change the course of their lives.

---

Plot Keywords:

breakup | plant cutting | frenchman | blonde | infidelity | 

---

Taglines:

Kate's stuck in a place where anything can happen with a guy who'll make sure that it does

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality, language and drug references

Did You Know?

Trivia

Star Kevin Kline's part was originally earmarked for French actor Gérard Depardieu.

---

Goofs

During the "flower" scene on the flight to Paris, the view out of the airplane windows on one side of the plane shows it's daytime while the view on the side Kline shows it's night.

---

Quotes

Luc: Why are you chasing after him after what he's done to you?
Kate: Because I love him! And I'm afraid that if he doesn't come back that I'll... it'll hurt so much that I'll just shrivel up and I'll never be able to love anyone ever again.
Luc: You say that now, but... after a time, you would forget. First, you would forget his chin, and then his nose, and after a while, you would struggle to remember the exact color of his eyes, and one day you wake up and, pfft, he's gone: his voice, his smell, his face. ...

---

Crazy Credits

One of the crew members is credited as "Big Cheese."

---

Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Iconic Meg Ryan Romance Movies (2019)

---

Soundtracks

Les Yeux Ouverts
French Adaptation of "Dream A Little Dream Of Me"
Performed by The Beautiful South (as Beautiful South)
Written by Fabian Andre, Wilbur Schwandt and Gus Kahn
Adaptation by Brice Homs, Korin Ternovtzeff
Courtesy of Go! Discs Ltd.

User Reviews

An indulgence a la francais!

This movie is sheer unabashed indulgence...indulgence in romantic comedies, in Meg Ryan, in France and a whole lot of other things and people!! I've seen this movie in parts lots of times, never really got to sit and see the whole film at one go. The dialogues are witty enough and the acting credible enough to make anyone want to sit and watch it again! Kevin Kline is superb in the role. For him it was more than just a matter of knowing French and then putting on a French accent. He seems to have undergone a transformation of sorts to really look credible as a French wine-maker cum a very convincing con man! Meg Ryan seemed one the whole more made-up than any other movie I've seen her in. But her expressions were as usual capital, really hilarious! Her reaction after eating too much cheese on the train left me in splits! There she is praising the French for having 452 types of cheese and the next instant she can't even bear the mention of cows! Some of her angst-ridden outbursts against men were totally understandable!

Timothy Hutton is one of those underrated actors who seriously deserves more challenging roles. The only other films I've seen him in are 'Ordinary People'(in which he was really brilliant. Thoroughly deserved his Oscar) and 'Mr. and Mrs. Loving'(in which her did a good turn as a Southerner in the 1950s-60s who gets married to a black woman against the law in South). He's a treat to watch in 'French Kiss' as the basically confused, prone-to-chauvinism Charlie! It would be an understatement to say that I liked the locales. France is one THE most beautiful countries and I'm glad they didn't restrict the location to Paris. I enjoyed more the part in Luc's village, complete with Ryan's witty sarcasm: "Fester, Fester, Rot, Rot. Poor you, you live over here"! This movie is not for the wine buffs('A Walk in the Clouds' with its mixture of wine and romance is recommended). It's for those who like romantic comedies and France! C'est irresistible!

Oh, and the song 'Dream A Little Dream' in French is one more sure selling point!

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

5 May 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Paris Match

Filming Locations:

Carlton Hotel, Cannes, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,018,022, 7 May 1995

Gross USA:

$38,896,854

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$101,982,854

Company Credits

Production Co:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Prufrock Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1