Review - Every Jack has his Jill(Jusqu'à toi)2009.
July 7th 2010 05:53
RELEASE DATE: July 1 2010
RUNNING TIME: 82 mins
CAST:
Melanie Laurent – Chloe
Justin Bartha – Jack
Billy Boyd – Rufus
Valerie Benguigui - Miriam
Jessica Pare - Liza
Maurice Benichou - le receptionniste
DIRECTOR: Jennifer Devoldere
WRITING CREDITS: Jennifer Devoldere
DISTRIBUTOR: Vendetta Films
Chloe lives alone in an apartment in Paris preferring DVD’s to real social interaction with real people. Jack has never been anywhere since his teenage years preferring to stay put in his own safe space. After being dumped by his girlfriend, he decides to take the romantic Paris vacation he has won alone. Chloe lives alone in Paris in a life that is not in line with her expectations. When Chloe accidentally ends up with Jack's suitcase, she decides to open it and is taken by the contents. She falls in love with Jack, even though she knows nothing about him - except for the contents of his suitcase - and decides she is going to find him. But with every turn something seems to be stoping the two from finally finding each other.
REVIEW:
First thing you need to know about this film is that it’s not a extended retelling of the old nursery rhyme. Unfortunately, that probably would have been a little easier to understand then this tale about a couple of young misfits out of touch with today’s society and destined never to find true love.
Chloe(not Jill) played by the Mealnie Laurent(INGLORIOUS BASTARDS) and Jack (Justin Bartha) spend their lives in their own little cocoon world. She is unable to carry on any sort of normal life to the point where she is unable to form even a basic friendship. Her only real friends are her neighbours whom she doesn’t really class as ‘people’. Why? We never really find out. A brief moment with her father briefly touches on the fact they never really had a father/daughter relationship, but this revelation is all too brief and confusing. In fact it just leaves more unanswered questions.
He doesn’t want to go anywhere. His girlfriend finally leaves him. In fact, this guy is such a loser, it’s a wonder he was ever able to get a girlfriend in the first place. His attempt to surprise his girlfriend is pathetic and with no real groundwork leading up to this moment, we are left wondering what the hell is going on.
Deciding to take the trip to Paris he goes alone. Never mind that he has two tickets and he could easily have taken his ‘best’ mate Rufus(Billy Boyd -LOTR) to run amok through the French clubs and pubs. His mate is also an Englishman and would love to go and take the mick out of the frogs, but even he is two dimensonal, never even trying to muscle in and grab that spare ticket. Not very english like at all.
The storyline is disjointed. Events happen for no apparent reason and you are left constantly trying to work out where you are in the film. Jumping from scene to scene it is hard to feel any empathy for any of the characters in the film no matter how hard you try. One of the final scenes in John's Diner seems to have been destroyed in the editing suite. The rush to get the message across leaves the audience unsure what has just happened.
It seems that a this film could have used a few more drafts before heading into production. Add to this what seems like film school editing and directing it’s a shame that what had the premise of what could have been a great rom-com seems to have been rushed and underdone which inevitably is what lets this film down.
RANKING:5/10
SJC
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