14FILM Heartbreaker July 2nd


With “Heartbreaker” the French once again show the rest of us how romance is done. Arriving in the heat of mid-summer, this film is a breezy romantic-come- dy romp offering audiences the per- fect indoor escape. Granted, there are lorry-sized holes in the plot that cheekily ask audiences to look the other way, but when the backdrop, leads and supporting cast are all so genuinely winning, it’s easy to for- give and forget.


Romain Duris stars as Alex, the titu- lar heartbreaker whose business is going to any lengths necessary to break up relationships, free women from disappointment and inspire them to seek out the princely match they’ve come to see they deserve. Assisting him are his trusted asso- ciates; disguise-clad sister Melanie and her gadget-loving husband, Marc. Though usually up to the task, the pair aren’t half as reliable at their jobs as they are in providing “Heartbreaker” with steady, pitch- perfect comedic support.


In spite of their skills in the break-up business, the anonymity that allows them to be so successful in car- rying out their jobs hasn’t exactly helped the business to take off or to clear Alex’s personal debts. So they soon find themselves going against their principle of only breaking up unhappy couples and bad matches to accept the lucrative offer of a lo- cal gangster/businessman intent on derailing the upcoming nuptials of his daughter. Vanessa Paradis is


Juliette, auction house curator and fiancée to her good-hearted and charming English tycoon boyfriend, Jonathan (Andrew Lincoln). With no discernible flaws in either partner or their compatibility, Alex’s attempts at sabotage quickly ca- reen off the usual path of destruc- tion towards increasingly desper- ate, impulsive and frequently painful measures and his all-but-certain ruin at the hands of impatient loan sharks. Having fashioned himself as Juliette’s bodyguard to get close to her, she goes about putting the finishing touches on her wedding in stunning Monaco and Alex’s job grows ever more panicked with the arrival of Sophie, the libidinous, hard-partying, old friend of Juliette’s (who hints at a possibly more inter- esting past for Juliette than initially revealed). As complications grow, Alex’s part- ners are forced to leave the comfort of their behind-the-scenes roles and share the load, leading to a number of the film’s best moments. Fortunately, debut director Pascal Chaumeil doesn’t just succumb to trotting out a procession of simple, dumb pratfalls in order to keep us in our seats, knowing just when to push the comedy and pull the ro- mance. An easygoing, effervescent, roman- tic comedy that shocks simply by virtue of it possessing such quali- ties, make sure you see “Heart- breaker” before the inevitable Hol- lywood remake’s tinkering knocks this pitch-perfect summer romance out of tune.


Get Him to the Greek June 25th


Right from the stage-setting, slice- of-showbiz-life opener it’s clear that writer/director Nicholas Stol- ler’s “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” spin-off is going to be a riotously funny rock ‘n’ roll ride. What’s not as evident this early on is the depth of character the leads will bring to their roles and how genuinely af- fecting their intertwining stories will grow to be. It’s these latter traits that serve to lift the film above the level of a briefly amusing diversion and not only make “Get Him To The Greek” one of the best summer films, but a true coming out party for Russell Brand as both a star and, rather surprisingly, an actor.


Iconic Brit rocker, Aldous Snow – made up of equal parts show- man Robbie, laddish Liam and Africa-saving Bono with plenty of the real-life Brand for flavour – has withdrawn from music following the disastrous release of his ego-driven “African Child”, an irredeemably moronic attempt at the all-too-fa- miliar save-the-third-world concept album. It’s up to lifelong fan and fledgling Pinnacle Records talent scout Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) to fling this once blazing star back into the sky with a proposed 10-year anniversary concert at the epony- mous Greek Theater. Armed with the blessing of the label’s boss, Sergio (a surprisingly impressive


Sean “Diddy” Combs), Aaron jets off to London to collect Snow (and his ever-evolving arsenal of danger- ous substances) and deliver him to Los Angeles within 72 hours. The film apparently grew out of the chemistry shared by Hill and Brand in “Sarah Marshall,” and the pair don’t disappoint in this out- ing either. So strong is their odd- couple chemistry that, along with scenes that have every reason to work (the introduction of a mysteri- ous “Jeffrey”), they manage to save scenes that shouldn’t have worked under any circumstances, the most notable example involving a rather forward proposal from Aldous late in the film.


It’s a credit to the skill and confi- dence of the performers, and a sign of just how much damn fun ev- eryone was having that it all comes together so well in this joyously dys- functional road trip.


Shrek Forever After 21th May


THE GUESTLIST NETWORK | JULY 2010 New Releases for July


Familiar with the phrase “You can never have too much of a good thing”? How about “Less is more”? In Shrek’s case it might have been wise to heed this second platitude. Then again, as this is the third se- quel to the original animated ogre hit, all good advice has clearly been cast aside in favour of good busi- ness. With “Shrek Forever After,” the filmmakers seem to be groping for a fitting end to this once won- derfully twisted fairy tale while si- multaneously hoping to atone for the missteps of the previous film. Whilst they and their talented voice cast succeed at topping their last effort, it all feels a bit too little, too late. Although the writers borrow a well-worn, yet still clever conceit from Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonder- ful Life” for inspiration, the plot line


is basically riffing on its own past tales: a domesticated Shrek yearns for his monstrous past. He enters into a dodgy deal with Rumples- tiltskin (voiced gamely by unknown Walt Dohrn) that results in his era- sure from history. Shrek of course, comes to see that his previous life held a great deal of meaning (through a series of mostly medio- cre gags worth a few guffaws) for those around him and must set out to make things right.


Will he succeed? Will he fall short and be forever doomed? The an- swer is fairly obvious and at this point it’s hard to muster the inter- est, even for a colourful, fitfully en- tertaining hour and a half. As fitting an end as a film past its sell-by date could ask for, Shrek exits on a wobbly note.


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