TOO BEAUTIFUL FOR YOU Movie Review

Trop Belle pour Toi

Successful car salesman Gérard Depardieu, married for years to the extraordinarily beautiful Carole Bouquet, discovers to his surprise that he is irresistibly drawn to his overweight, physically unexceptional secretary (Josiane Balasko). Bertrand Blier's screenplay contains the seeds of a rich, complex dramatic comedy that touches on a number of subjects—masculine insecurity, women's fear of objectification, the nature of romantic love, etc. The problem is, all Blier does is touch on them, and what we're left with is a thin, protracted, gimmicky trifle that feels like a skillfully filmed first draft, never finding a way to develop the core situation far beyond its superficial shock value. As a result, the movie's talented cast is left to flounder; still, if you're determined to hire a floundering cast, you could do a lot worse than to hire these three. They not only make Too Beautiful for You watchable, they also suggest the unexplored possibilities in this material, thereby inviting us—to Blier's detriment, unfortunately—to imagine the movie that might have been.

NEXT STOP … Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, Mon Homme, Passione d'Amoré

1988 (R) 91 m/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 ORI, FXL, FCT