Film of the week: Heartbreaker (15)

Damon Smith • Published 11 Jul 2010 09:00 0 Comments

Rating: 8/10

WITH its picture postcard Mediterranean locations and attractive cast, Heartbreaker is the romantic comedy of the summer.

Complemented by a snappy script and effervescent soundtrack, Pascal Chaumeil's irresistible romp proves the search for true love is fraught with misunderstandings and a fair few bruises.

Romain Duris and Vanessa Paradis share sizzling on screen chemistry, culminating in an unforgettable dance sequence that will have audiences whooping in the aisles and fondly casting their minds back to 1987.

"My name is Alex Lippi. I break up women for a living," explains the handsome and charming hero of this hare-brained tale in subtitled voiceover.

Alex (Duris) runs a company with his sister Melanie (Julie Ferrier) and her surveillance expert husband, Marc (Francois Damiens), which specialises in terminating relationships which are doomed to fail.

Concerned family and friends hire the trio to befriend the female target and open her eyes to the failings of a boyfriend or fiancé.

Despite the duplicity, Alex still has morals. "If they're in love, I stay away," he tells one of his clients.

Millionaire industrialist Van Der Becq (Frantz) hires Alex, Melanie and Marc to stop the impending wedding of his beautiful heiress daughter, Juliette (Paradis), to suave British charity founder, Jonathan (Andrew Lincoln).

Alex hurriedly reads the background file on Juliette: "Her flaws: she loves George Michael, knows Dirty Dancing by heart, has a dead right shoulder..."

Posing as the socialite's new bodyguard, Alex joins Juliette in Monaco, where he quickly makes an impression by knowing the words to Wham! and foiling the theft of her handbag.

Sparks of attraction with Juliette are extinguished by the arrival of her sex-crazed best friend, Sophie (Helena Noguerra), who makes it clear that she intends to seduce Alex.

With mere days until Juliette walks down the aisle, Alex lets his feelings cloud his judgment and for once, he has to consider breaking his heart to complete the job.

Heartbreaker is the perfect tonic after the heartbreak of the World Cup, held together by Duris and Paradis's compelling lead performances.

Their verbal sparring electrifies the film, interspersed with some uproarious physical comedy such as when Alex tries to escape Sophie's clutches, calling for help from his associates by hissing, "The nympho's in my room!"

Ferrier and Damiens are superb comic relief, donning various disguises as hotel workers to ensure Juliette doesn't make it to the church on time, while Lincoln ensures that Jonathan is an attractive proposition waiting patiently at the altar.

Laughs come thick and fast under Chaumeil's energetic direction, with swoonsome romance in the closing moments as Juliette must choose where her future lies.

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This article appeared in Villager 08 Jul 10

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