Francois Coste isn't a bad man, really. He just doesn't have any friends. Being the uptight, wealthy art dealer that he is, he can't see a reason to have any. Francois (Auteuil) rushes from meeting to meeting, and views every person as a means to an end. Thus it comes as no surprise that his cold demeanour deters people from warming up to him.

Not that he ever cared, but the situation changes one evening when his business partner Catherine (Gayet) makes a show of his friendlessness in front of all their high-brow acquaintances. Taking that as an insult, he wagers that he would have a best friend to show off in 10 days or he loses a Euro 200,000 vase that he had bought in an auction.

What follows is a frenetic hunt for any old Tom, Dick or Henry (pardon the pun, not that he knew the Arsenal striker) who might fit the bill. He seeks out his childhood buddies, business contacts and the like, but they all avoid him like the plague. A gleam of hope arrives in the form of Bruno (Boon), a nervous taxi driver who makes friends effortlessly because of his unassuming ways. The story then predictably disintegrates into a moral debate about whether or not Francois would be able to buy friendship.

This could have been a delightful comedy with its superb cast, but it struggles to find direction or any sort of dramatic urgency that would turn it into something more rewarding for the audience. In fairness, it did pick up towards the third quarter of the film, with its quirky references to Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince" and scenes with Bruno on the French version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? - but it does seem a tad too late in getting me to care for the characters at all.

This is the worst Leconte film I've ever seen. When did he decide to go mainstream? Word on the street is that Hollywood has snapped this script up for a remake, due in 2009. I'd ask you to wait for that one.