My Best Friend

Critics praised Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in Paris most for its unsentimental portrait of modern Paris, but while I appreciate that & do think it is the better film all things considered, I still fall head over heels for the bright, romantic Paris and jaunty accordion soundtrack in a thing like this! The plot — an all-business antiques dealer tries to find a best friend to settle a bet — is contrived, but handled maturely in Leconte’s hands: it’s a light film, but always human. Both Daniel Auteuil and Dany Boon are terrific in the rare guy film with no romantic asides to speak of, and even I can’t read homoeroticism into their growing bond, which is made of increasingly interesting stuff. Parts of it are weak — the too-long and too-obvious Who Wants to Be a Millionaire segment comes to mind — but overall it is a fresh and rewarding little comedy.