Avenue Montaigne (2006)

A young woman arrives in Paris where she finds a job as a waitress in bar next on Avenue Montaigne that caters to the surrounding theaters and the wealthy inhabitants of the area. She will meet a pianist, a famous actress and a great art collector, and become acquainted with the "luxurious" world her grandmother has told her about since her childhood.

Director:

Danièle Thompson

Writers:

Danièle Thompson (screenplay), Christopher Thompson (screenplay)

Stars:

Cécile de France, Valérie Lemercier, Albert Dupontel

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Valérie Lemercier	...	Catherine Versen
Cécile de France	...	Jessica (as Cécile De France)
Albert Dupontel	...	Jean-François Lefort
Claude Brasseur	...	Jacques Grumberg
Christopher Thompson	...	Frédéric Grumberg
Dani	...	Claudie
Laura Morante	...	Valentine Lefort
Suzanne Flon	...	Madame Roux
Sydney Pollack	...	Brian Sobinsky
François Rollin	...	Marcel
Guillaume Gallienne	...	Pascal
Annelise Hesme	...	Valérie
Françoise Lépine	...	Magali Garrel
Michel Vuillermoz	...	Félix
Daniel Benoin	...	Daniel Bercoff

Storyline

Jessica, raised by her grandmother, comes to Paris and gets a job at a bar across from a performance complex where a play, a concert, and an art auction will occur the same evening. It's a world in flux: the play's star wants off a popular TV soap that's made her rich, and she covets the lead in a film about de Beauvoir and Sartre; the pianist hates the concert circuit, but his wife who's his manager may leave him if he quits; a self-made widower with a girlfriend less than half his age is selling his collection of modern art - his son, a professor, objects to his father's love life. The stage manager at the complex is resigning after 30 years. Jessica sets the tone for how all plays out.

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Plot Keywords:

pianist | manager | concert | bar | widower | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some strong language and brief sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Visa d'exploitation en France # 112436

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Goofs

When Dupontel (Jean-François Lefort) gives his concert and takes off his shirt and jacket they change places, first in front of the long end of the piano then in the next cut much closer to the keyboard end.

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Crazy Credits

Before end credits: "À Suzanne" (dedicated to Suzanne Flon who died at 87 shortly after filming was completed), as we hear an off-screen quote by her - taken from earlier in the film - where the elderly character she plays serenely states that she had a good life.

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Connections

References Taxi Driver (1976)

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Soundtracks

Je reviens te chercher
Words by Pierre Delanoë
Music by Gilbert Bécaud (1967)
Performed by Cali (2005)

User Reviews

A pleasant French soufflé.

An oh so cute, naive, guileless, and somewhat ditsy mademoiselle from the sticks comes to Paris to follow her grandmother's advice and "push her way in" and see what happens. She lands a job as a waitress in a little café that never hires women. She is hired because the owner needs help during a trifecta of events about to take place near the café. A recital by a great pianist; an opening of a new play starring a famous daytime TV comedienne; and an auction of an art collector's works.

As she waits on the customers, both in the café and in their work, she meets all three of the main players in the events. The poetic license taken is that all of these people would take time to chat; open up and share intimacies with our little gamine. But she is oh so cute, and oh so socially clueless, that she charms them. Through her meanderings we see all the stories of the main protagonists emerge. The pianist wants to quit formal recitals; feeling hemmed in by the pressure. The actress wants to break out of her "popular but shallow" roles; and the collector wants to sell off his possessions because he is dying and he needs the money for his last days with his mistress.

In the end all of the loose ends are tied up and our heroine ends up with the son of the collector. It's all very pleasant, and at times earnest, stuff - but it is all so derivative and staged!

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English Japanese

Release Date:

27 April 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Avenue Montaigne

Filming Locations:

15 - Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Avenue Montaigne, Paris 8, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

EUR8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,377, 18 February 2007

Gross USA:

$2,044,858

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,690,533

Company Credits

Production Co:

Thelma Films, StudioCanal, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 100 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1