Too Beautiful for You Movie Review

Long before the 1996 divorce of T.R.H. Charles and Diana, The Prince and Princess of Wales (with frumpy Camilla Parker-Bowles unnamed, but widely believed to be THE contributing factor), Bertrand Blier explored a similar mystery in this 1988 French film. Why does Gerard Depardieu (hey—has anyone said anything mean about HIS stomach lately?) prefer his frumpy secretary to his meltingly lovely wife (Carole Bouquet)? The line that the late Richard Jordan (courtesy of Woody Allen) springs on Mary Beth Hurt in 1978's Interiors comes to mind: “It's been so long since I've made love to a woman that I didn't feel inferior to.” Is that it? Depardieu clearly doesn't feel worthy of his wife who suffers agonies while he trots off to share a bed with Josiane Balasko. (Fact of life: Even some of the most beautiful women in the world NEVER really believe it and being strung along by just one underwhelmed guy can make them feel hideous.) Well, the premise IS primal and writer/director Blier develops it in a promising way…at first. But then, he diddles it. Where do you take a situation like this? The three characters don't know because Blier doesn't, either. Maybe he feels that identifying the issue is enough. The truth may be larger and more ugly than one romantic melodrama can contain. Anyway, it's very well acted by the three principals and it won four Cesar awards in France, before U.S. viewers like yours truly started kvetching about trivialities like the denouement. AKA: Trop Belle pour Toi.

1988 (R) 91m/C FR Gerard Depardieu, Josiane Balasko, Carole Bouquet, Roland Blanche, Francois Cluzet; D: Bertrand Blier; W: Bertrand Blier; C: Philippe Rousselot. Cannes Film Festival ‘89: Grand Jury Prize; Cesar Awards ‘90: Best Actress (Bouquet), Best Director (Blier), Best Film, Best Writing. VHS