The beautiful, scheming adventuress Irene (Tautou) meets Jean (Elmaleh), a shy waiter working in a grand hotel, and mistakes him for a young millionaire. She skips out from her sixty-something sugar daddy Jacques (Vernon Dobtcheff) to spend the night with Jean. However, when she discovers his lowly status, Irene beats a quick retreat. But love-struck Jean has no intention of letting her escape, and pursues her to the French Riviera. Quickly running out of money, he finds himself a loaded widow (Marie-Christine Adam) and takes up residence in a magnificent luxury hotel. Will the seducer become the seduced?
What I loved most: Audrey tautou, interesting, funny.
Absolutely Brilliant! I picked this up off the shelf on a whim and was rivetted to the screen from the first scene. I usually steer wide of anything that even hints of "romantic comedy" but this movie has none of the usual cheesy cliches. It's a good story line with sound performances by both lead actors and a great sense of humour. Enjoy!
"Priceless" (original French title, "Hors de Prix") is a romantic comedy about an Average Joe who falls for a materialistic girl, only to find out that love does not always conquer all. Those who had wept watching "Breakfast At Tiffany's", should not miss this one.
The movie starts off introducing Irene (Audrey Tautou) as a young girl who seeks an easy life, going out with rich, generous men. On the other side of town, Jean (Gad Elmaleh) is working hard for a living. When Irene first meets Jean, she mistakes him for a wealthy young man. She goes out with him and soon Jean goes broke from Irene's extravagant lifestyle.
Unable to pay his debts, Jean unwillingly becomes the companion to Madeleine (Marie-Christine Adam), a lonely but wealthy widow. Being new to this experience, Jean is taught by Irene to take advantage of the widow and eventually, he becomes good at it.
Throughout the movie, Elmaleh plays a shy and timid guy with low self-esteem due to his inability to woo Irene. He does a good job with appropriate facial expressions and body language that help to flesh out his character. Tautou, on the other hand, makes her Irene convincing with the gorgeous and expensive designer clothes and an energetic performance. She is especially memorable when she demonstrates to Jean how to seduce a woman - and suddenly stops midway, just when you thought they were going to get passionate. No wonder she was nominated for the Cesar Award for Best Actress twice, in 2002 and 2005. She gained global recognition when she starred in "The Da Vinci Code" with Tom Hanks in 2006.
This movie leaves you feeling touched by true love and how it really conquers all, even financially. Watch it when it is shown during the French Film Festival 2007 from 24 May to 3 June at GSC Mid Valley and GSC One Utama.
"Priceless" is all about romance and the price of falling in love. Audrey Tautou plays Irene, a woman who is always on the lookout for her next 'sugar daddy' to maintain her extravagant lifestyle of dining only at the best restaurants and buying only branded goods. As she flits from one rich man to the next, she shamelessly digs, buys and lives off whoever falls for her.
One day, while on holiday with one of her rich old lovers, she falls for Jean (Gad Elmaleh), a waiter at the hotel she is staying at. Their first encounter leaves Irene believing that Jean is a wealthy hotel guest. Jean falls for her charms and after a one-night stand, Irene's older lover finds out and ditches her. Spurned, Irene turns to Jean. However, she soon discovers that she had been duped by Jean, who turns out to be a 'fake'. Jean, by this time, has fallen madly for her and chases her to the Cote d' Azur. Jean soon finds that his limited resources are stretched to the limit just to keep up with Irene's lifestyle. This is where the story twists and turns and zips us to its romantic ending.
Jean is picked up by a rich woman and he quickly learns how to please women, aided by Irene who teaches him a trick or two about how to make his woman eat out of his hand. There are hilarious scenes where Jean and Irene cross each other's path while entertaining their respective lovers. Ironically, Irene and Jean grow closer and Irene soon realises that as she teaches him how to seduce women, she is being seduced by Jean!
Tautou portrays Irene perfectly and looks impeccably gorgeous in her designer dresses and branded outfits. Elmaleh, as the geeky and uncomfortable-around-girls kind of guy, also plays his role flawlessly.
The movie leaves you feeling good about love and believing that the heart never lies, even if the wallet is unable to keep up with love's extravagant tastes. After all, true love overcomes everything.
Production Photos - Click thumbnail for larger photos
