Very Cool!!!

Simply A Masterpiece

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Drawn to this movie by a trailer that seemed to indicate something funny might occur, I was disappointed to find this film weak, disjointed, patently illogical in many places and decidedly un-funny.The entire film seems to be centered on a disgruntled wife - why she is so we have no idea - and her "idiot" husband who is reduced in numerous cases to begging for sex only to have his wife deny him at the last moment. The film starts out promising only to nose dive into angst, rage, disappointment and confusion. If Paris was meant to be a character in this film, any lines it had were struck from the script 1/3 of the way into the film. The opening scenes seem to introduce Paris as not only the setting but a key member of the ensemble, after which it becomes an afterthought - the closing half of the film might have been set in Moscow for all the audience knows, except for only sparse allusions to itstill being Paris. Jeff Goldblum's character materializes out of nowhere and in a matter of seconds becomes an implausibly cult-like disciple of Jim Broadbent's character, at one point inanely screaming "I love you!" to the departing couple as they walk down a flight of stairs. It may have been my North American ears, but I have never watched a movie full of British actors where I have had such a hard time following what was said. Fully half of Lindsay Duncan's dialogue was incomprehensible to me. Don't watch this movie if you want to see Paris, have a laugh or pass an enjoyable night.

A British couple return to Paris many years after their honeymoon there in an attempt to rejuvenate their marriage.So ,I watched this because it has Jeff Goldblum. Not one of his finer roles, not one he is going to be known for. But, still glad i watched it. This was pretty decent, and not at all the "romance" or "romantic comedy" it sort of makes itself out to be. Much more introspective about growing older, both in and out of relationships.We need more movies with Jeff Goldblum. Maybe not as an older man who ignores his kid and goes through multiple marriages. Though, at this point in his life, that might not be too far removed from the real thing.

My wife's son recommended this film to us at lunch yesterday, saying it's quirky, it's funny, it's sad, a delight, in short. I should have remembered that ten years or so ago, Jonathon was telling his mum and me that the new live-action "Scooby Doo" movie was the best film ever. At least then he was only 10 or so. If I had my choice today, I think I'd take old Scoob anytime.This film is such twaddling nonsense. An ageing Brummie intellectual couple who grew up in the 60's return to Paris, the scene of their honeymoon years before to have a time, get over some recent disappointments and perhaps rekindle their marriage. Over the course of the weekend they will run out of a swanky restaurant without paying, visit the graveyard of Beckett and Sartre, hook up with an outre old American college friend of the male, deliver embarrassingly candid speeches of self-hate and adoration at dinner in front of strangers and finish up by doing a funky dance routine in a little café after they have their passports confiscated for welching on their hotel bill. Pretentious ils?Speaking mostly in sentences with language and phrases used by I'd imagine about 1% of the population, the film touched almost new depths of inanity, boredom and irritation for me. Maybe the director thought he was being clever in giving us a sophisticated, Paris-set witty French comedy of the sexes with the twist of two sexagenerian not-so-innocent English tourists abroad. Clever, never. I also got nothing from the acting of leads Broadbent and Duncan and as for Jeff Goldblum's camp American friend, quel dommage! The soundtrack of cool jazz, mixed up with Nick Drake only put even more distance between me and what I was watching.I didn't smile, never mind laugh during the whole film, I only winced and wished for it to end, which it didn't soon enough. And as for the next time Jonathon tells me to look out for a film, include me out!

I was interested in "Le Week-End" for a couple of reasons. I have enjoyed Jim Broadbent in many things. Also, I am nearing the age and have a lot in common with the characters--though after seeing the film, I am glad the similarity only goes so far. Unlike the couple in this one who have been married 30 years and now realize how little they actually like each other, after 28 years, I am still thrilled I married my wife and recently returned from a trip to Paris with her. Our trip went a lot better...thank goodness.The film begins with Nick (Jim Broadbent) and Meg (Lindsay Duncan) arriving in Paris. They're there to celebrate their 30th anniversary and so they've returned to this city for the first time since their honeymoon. While hopes are high, their trip doesn't go as planned and the hotel they stayed in the first time is now a dump. And, with so many plans going awry, they slowly begin to examine their lives and how they, too, are not exactly the way they hoped they'd be. What follows is a movie that shows the couples working through some ennui and coming up with a better understanding with each other.Overall, I liked the acting in the film very much. Broadbent and Duncan seemed quite good in these roles. Unfortunately, as far as the material goes, it was purely adequate--not bad but not especially memorable either. It left me wondering is this all there is...just like the couples did earlier in the film.