Happiness Never Comes Alone
Starring: Gad Elmaleh, Sophie Marceau, Maurice Barthelemy, Francois Bereand
Directed By: James Huth
Reviewed by Danielle Muir
[rating: 3.5/5]
French comedies always leave you with a smile and a warm fuzzy feeling. It’s always a pleasant way to spend 90 minutes –just sit back, sigh, and enjoy the subdued hilarity of the protagonists falling in love.
Happiness Never Comes Alone is no exception, however rises above normal giggle territory into full blown laughter, mostly from the old-school unexpected slapstick so often used. For example, Sophie Marceau plays Charlotte Posche – a sultry brunette who also happens to be one of the most accident prone women on the planet. She falls down stairs, trips, and is hit by numerous spurting and flying objects – usually to the fault of her new lover Sacha Keller who thinks himself a DIY genius.
The humour also shines with Charlotte’s three children whom Sacha must accustom to (being a child-phobic 30 something). The youngest sporadically vomits and is consistently grumpy, and the scenes where exasperated Sacha tries to handle him are very amusing (bordering on accidental child abuse). The two other children provide more sentimental value, especially the eldest daughter, but still provide their comic relief and complete a very watchable little family.
All the performances are brilliant, with Marceau (what a stunning woman) and Elmaleh having palpable chemistry throughout – except there is the case of the frustratingly selfish show director (and Sasha’s best friend) Laurent. Of course, in every romantic comedy there must be something to thwart the couples happiness – but need he be so annoying? He feels Sacha is being distracted by his new love when he’s meant to be writing their new show (a meld of dance, music and shadows it seems), so he goes to disgustingly selfish lengths to deter him from seeing his ‘old woman’. And then the rest of the time he’s buzzing around like a mosquito that needs a good swat. But, as foils go, I suppose he suffices. Even the mega-rich ‘Chick Poacher’ Alain Posche (Charlotte’s ex-husband and baby-daddy) is more likeable – at least he’s thinking of the children.
All the Parisian colours pop in this gorgeous colour palate, and it does make you want to move to the cobblestone streets of France. Everything from the warm colours of the park to the primary colours of Charlotte’s beautiful wardrobe radiates happiness and love. A feast for the eyes, as they often are.
Happiness Never Comes Alone was expectedly lovely, but sporadically laugh-out-loud. It’s nice to see some good old slapstick coupled with a saucy romance, and fans of French romantic comedies (or rom-coms in general) will enjoy a bit of love-struck fun.
