WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2001 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Dominik Moll's WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY (HARRY, UN AMI QUI VOUS VEUT DU BIEN), a quirky and eventually dark comedy, raises intriguing questions. Can one have too good of a friend? And what does it take to remove a 20-year writer's block, especially if the writer isn't aware that he has it in the first place?
When we first meet Michel (Laurent Lucas) and his wife, Claire (Mathilde Seigner, VENUS BEAUTY INSTITUTE), they aren't happy campers. Driving an old jalopy without air-conditioning, they have to endure the heat-flamed temper tantrums of their three young girls screaming in the backseat. It's a frustratingly familiar scene to which most parents can easily relate.
As Michel tries to beat the heat by splashing water on his face in a public restroom, an old classmate of his, Harry (Sergi López, AN AFFAIR OF LOVE), comes up and shakes his hand. Looking like he's thinking, "Who is this clown?", Michel has no idea who this man with the frozen, silly grin on his face is. Only after Harry reveals enough shared school trivia does Michel realize that maybe, just maybe, he may have known him a couple of decades ago.
The persistent Harry finagles a dinner invitation from Michel for himself and his voluptuous girlfriend, Plum (Sophie Guillemin), whom the credits list as Prune -- go figure. Harry, who is rolling in the dough, turns out to be a big fan of Michel's school writings, including his poem ("The Danger in the Skin of Night") and his unfinished science fiction novel ("The Flying Monkeys," about gibbons with propeller hats). Harry is such an enormous admirer of Michel's work that he can recite Michel's poem by heart, which surprises Claire who didn't know that Michel ever wrote anything.
The ever-perturbed but resilient Michel has more problems than growing girls. He calls his parents "modest pains," which is an understatement. Always butting in where they're not wanted, their most recent and unappreciated gift is a new, bright pink -- they insist it's fuchsia -- bathroom in the country farmhouse that Michel has been working on restoring every summer.
But not to worry since Harry, whose motto is "Excess is the only way to fulfillment," is there to help Michel. The story's dark second half, full of morbid humor, concerns Harry's unsolicited help with every aspect of Michel's life.
Only the story's predictability and the plot's long setup detract from its enjoyment. The wickedly funny film leaves you with lots to talk about when you leave.
WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY runs a little too long at 1:57. The film is in French with English subtitles. It is rated R for language, some violence and a scene of nudity and would be acceptable for most teenagers.
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com
Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email? Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews