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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Fox Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 69923
Released: January 13, 2009 |
| Our Price: $29.90 |
| Used Price: $9.34 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
A woman with a phobia about flying gets caught up with a shady French smuggler while flying to Paris to retrieve her wayward fiance. Director Lawrence Kasdan's first stab at romantic comedy.
French Kiss Reviews:
Everyone gets what he or she really wants. 
2009-04-05 - Kate (Meg Ryan) and Charlie (Timothy Hutton) are engaged and even have a house in mind. However Charlie has to go to a medical convention in Paris. Kate is afraid of flying so she stays home in her newly adopted country, Canada; that is until Charlie finds a French goddess (Susan Anbeh) and calls the whole thing off. Kate won't stand for this and gets up the courage to fly. On her way, she meets an obnoxious Frenchman Luc Teyssier (Kevin Kline). Little does she realize that their paths will cross again and again.
As in the movie "Boys' Night Out (1962) with Kim Novak", Kate, Charlie, and Luc, only know what they are supposed to want in life. They pursue their wants until they find that they really want something different than they were supposed to want. That is a lot of wants.
Lots of action, one-liners and great music (French Kiss: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.) I notice that all the time Kate is in Paris that she just misses seeing the Eiffel Tower by a few seconds. She does find an Eiffel Tower souvenir that reminds her of Luc.
Everyone is perfect for the part. I would almost thing that Kevin Kline was French. Laurent Spielvogel plays the Concierge and has the attitude that Johnny Carson always says the French have. Even Jean Reno (birth (location) Casablanca, Morocco) seems exceedingly French.
Boys' Night Out [VHS]
Charming and Romantic
2009-01-05 - Meg Ryan helped produce this truly charming and thoughtful romantic comedy which sort of slipped in and out of theatres much too fast upon its initial release in the 90's. Perhaps because it unfolds slowly and relies on gentle charm and intelligence rather than flashes of nudity and raw situations to reel the viewer in, many used to being bombarded by the latter simply didn't have the patience to stick around for what is one of the best romantic comedies to come along in ages.
Lawrence Kasdan let this dish simmer until the aroma finally overcomes the viewer, our hunger rewarded once it is finished by its delectable flavor. Beautifully shot by Owen Roizman, the lush backgrounds take a back seat to the story in a film that is sweet and irresistible. Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline are both wonderful in the kind of film which doesn't get made anymore.
Kate (Meg Ryan) is devastated when her boyfriend (Timothy Hutton) decides to stay in Paris and marry a breathtaking French beauty who makes him think of sonnets rather than return and marry her. She overcomes her phobia of flying in order to confront him, but meets a charming French thief named Luc (Kevin Kline) on the plane with plans to use her to smuggle something past customs.
There is a tender charm to everything which follows as Kate and Luc get entangled in each others problems and finally realize who they really need. Jean Reno is excellent as Luc's cop pal who really doesn't want to arrest him but has to get back what was taken. When Kate discovers what Luc needs the money for, it will change her entire outlook on the situation. A pact to help each other may go awry, however, as each finally discerns that it may not be too late to go for what they really want in their hearts.
This is a rich and rewarding film, with the appeal of a warm and unexpected smile from an unpretentious girl. It sticks with you afterward, while other films in the genre with less depth and more flash are forgotten five minutes after you see them. A simple kiss from a half-asleep Kate on a train which stirs feelings in Luc he had not counted on is more memorable because of the way in which it is handled. Ryan is hilarious crawling down a hallway covered in food at one point, trying not to let Charlie (Hutton) and his hot French girlfriend Juliette (Susan Anbeh) see her.
Watching this delightful film is like reading a book rather than leafing through a magazine. It takes longer to get to the end, but the rewards are far greater. This romantic comedy has been repackaged for Valentine's Day, in red and white, a heart capturing the cover picture. While it is a tad more than the normal release, it is still quite inexpensive, and a nice gift for the smart girl in your life who doesn't need to be hit over the head cinematically to enjoy something. A subtle gem.
