There are romantic comedies and romantic comedies. Some fall into the trap of being overly sentimental - thus, people who don't have a natural affinity for romantic comedies would not enjoy them. French Kiss definitely doesn't fall into this category, so if slushiness puts you off, you'll still like this. (Even my sister would like it! :-P)
The plot basically revolves around an aerophobic (is that the correct word for those with a fear of flying?) American - soon to be Canadian woman (Meg Ryan, playing a rather more feisty character than I've usually seen her play) actually facing her fear of flying to go over and reclaim her fiance, who has fallen for another woman while on a trip there. On the way she meets a Frenchman (played pretty convincingly by Kevin Kline - you'd never guess it was him), and they strike up an unlikely (and for the most part unwilling) partnership. No surprises here, she ends up falling in love with him - but there are plenty of twists and turns along the way.
From the very first scene - where Ryan is in a "conquer your fear of flying" school - you know you're in for a ride with plenty of belly laughs. There are many memorable moments in the film, perhaps most notably the plane taking off (where Kline, by means of all sorts of deeply personal insults, makes her forget that she's on an aeroplane taking off and terrified of it), the "all men are bastards" scene, where every man in close proximity of her is tarred very loudly with the same brush, and the scene at the American and Canadian embassies, where she tries to get a new passport (with, predictably, very little success). All of that actually made it sound as if it was a rather crude film - this is not the case, and all of the above scenes, and indeed the whole film, are carried off with a high level of sophistication.
In comparison with other romantic comedies, this film stands up very well against others. It is weighted far more in favour of comedy than romance, of which there is surprisingly little. It's cheesy, it's a bit predictable, but it's a lot of fun. I think the fact that I like Meg Ryan helped quite a bit, so if you don't like her you should probably stay away from this one. Otherwise though, it's a good romcom with extra cheese and wine.
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Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Meg Ryan (When Harry met Sally) and Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda) are a Paris match ... more
made in heaven in this hilarious, adventure-filled romantic comedy from the director of The Accidental Tourist and The Big Chill. Straight-laced Kate (Ryan) has her...
Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline are a Paris match made in heaven in this hilarious ... more
adventure-filled romantic comedy. Straight-laced Kate (Ryan)has her future all planned out: marry her fiance Charlie (Timothy Hutton) and live happily ever after. What she di...
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![French Kiss [DVD] [1995]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78526681.jpg "French Kiss [DVD] [1995]")
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