The average movie set in Paris entails romance, long walks along the Seine and an endearing caricature of the French. 2 Days in Paris, written, directed and starred in by Julie Delpy (Before Sunrise) challenges all of these traditional assumptions, resulting in an enjoyable but confusing film.
After a less-than-perfect trip to Venice, Marion (Delpy), a French photographer and Jack (Adam Goldberg, Saving Private Ryan), an American interior designer, stop over in Paris to spend a couple of days visiting Marion's parents and friends before returning to New York. After a couple days, their relationship is more than a little rocky. Between constant run-ins with Marion's exes and Jack's frustration with petite French condoms, the audience is unsure as to whether the couple's tumultuous stay in "Gay Paree" will ultimately bring the two together or push them apart.
2 Days in Paris is truly a film of many faces. In one respect, it's similar to a French version of Lost in Translation, with Jack as the victim of endless language barrier-based confusion and awkward interactions with Marion's parents and friends. The many caricatures woven into the story take little jabs at both Americans and the French, as exemplified in the slight but intriguing subplot of the Dan Brown-crazed Code Breaker American tour group.
At certain points in the film, however, Delpy's portrayal of the French as a cultural commentary steps far beyond the boundaries of lightly charming: in one particular scene, Marion loses her composure and screams at a racist cab driver. The screaming reappears in a couple of other scenes and it seems that Delpy may be trying to wedge in her political two cents somewhere, anywhere in the plot. The message certainly gets through but this dimension of the story feels very out of place and makes Marion seem a little crazy.
Delpy also seems to consistently try to weave in some of the quirkiness of Amelie and the honesty of Before Sunrise. Marion has some dysfunction with her eye that makes her vision patchy, and there are flashbacks to her as an child with huge glasses sitting around and staring at plants, which was effectively cute.
This dimension of character development disappears later in the film, though the adult Marion is adorably neurotic. Also in a few instances, Marion and Jack take a time out to discuss their feelings and thoughts on relationships, which was a nice, though fleeting, touch. This subtle technique also disappears.
It's easy to criticize, but what's good about this movie? Actually, a lot. Some interesting aspects of the film are that Delpy and Goldberg have dated in the past and Marion's mother and father are played by Delpy's real-life parents. These aspectd results in a naturally easy and sincere chemistry between the characters.
Both Delpy's and Goldberg's performances are simultaneously hilarious and convincing, and the two actors make the most out of a well-written dialogue full of perfect one-liners. A particularly funny moment is the scene in which the couple makes the popular tourist migration to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery to see Jim Morrison's grave. Marion asks, "So you like Jim Morrison?" and Jack replies, "No, but I'm a huge Val Kilmer fan."
The characters are appealing, the humor is on-key and the actors are in-synch, so what's missing?
The question isn't necessarily "What's missing?," but rather, "What isn't missing and should be?" 2 Days in Paris is at least five movies at once frapp??d together and applied meticulously to the streets and caf??s of Paris. I did enjoy the movie, but in terms of getting the overall point, I didn't. Maybe you will.
So to Ms. Delpy I say, leave the introspective dialogue and emotional montages to Richard Linklater, embrace your comedic self, and you'll have a winning film.
Verdict: Wait for it on DVD.
