Romantic comedy is a favoured movie genre across the world, it’s great for date night, girls night and just a little time out, whether it be in the cinema or your own lounge room.
A new release beginning in cinemas across the country on December 1 is Up For Love, a French romantic comedy about overcoming prejudices to find love.
The movie stars Jean Dujardin whom you may have seen in The Wolf of Wall Street, The Monuments Men and The Artist, and Virginie Efira of It Boy and Second Chance fame. It is directed by Laurent Tirard (Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia, Little Nicholas, Moliére) and is in French.
SYNOPSIS: Academy Award®-winner Jean Dujardin stars in this French, romantic, laugh-out-loud-comedy that is all about the long and short of falling in love. When successful lawyer, Diane (Virginie Efira) gets a call from the man who has found her mobile phone, she is immediately intrigued and charmed. As she and Alexandre (Dujardin) chat and make plans to meet, it becomes evident that the chemistry between them is great indeed. However, when they meet the next day it turns out there may be one small problem.
New relationships are always awkward and for Diane & Alexandre the challenges in their relationship could be somewhat of a tall order. Despite his charisma and good looks, Alexandre comes up a bit short (almost 2 feet, actually). Is Diane out of his reach or can they meet in the middle? They’re both looking for love but society is watching and judging. A perfect match in every way but one, will this new couple be up for the challenge? Will they be UP FOR LOVE?
TRAILER:
We were fortunate enough to send 10 of our members off to the movies to watch Up For Love, and I look forward to hearing what they think in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Up For Love is a film that isn’t sure whether it wants to be dramatic and have a serious message or to be lightweight and farcical. The story is a remake of an Argentinean film named, Corazón de León. It is about a tall woman who grapples with falling in love with a short man. The story is ultimately too flippant and exploitative to really cut through.
Jean Dujardin (The Artist) stars as Alexandre, a charming and witty architect. In real life, Dujardin is over six feet tall so here he is digitally enhanced to appear like a diminutive man (around four feet tall) who had problems with his pituitary gland whilst growing up. This alone feels entirely at odds with the film’s overall message of accepting people for who they really are.
A successful lawyer and blonde bombshell divorcee, Diane (Virginie Efira) leaves her phone at a monument one day and luckily it is picked up by Alexandre. The pair chat over the telephone and share a meaningful conversation before agreeing to meet in person. The two soon fall into a passionate relationship but Diane struggles with Alexandre’s height. Her feelings are compounded by the insensitiveness of the people around her. Diane’s ex-husband calls her “Snow White” at one point while her mother recklessly drives into on-coming traffic after hearing her daughter’s relationship is becoming serious.
This film, Up For Love by director, Laurent Tirard feels rather disingenuous. There are one too many cheap shots at short people and the storyline is quite predictable and clichéd. It’s a shame because this film is nicely-shot and could have been so much more. The actors are certainly charismatic and likeable enough and the story isn’t a completely throwaway one. The problem is that the tone is too light-hearted and flippant to be taken seriously and the jibes are often too awkward and cringeworthy, rather than funny.
I am conflicted about this film. One part funny and charming and the other part….a little strange. Is basing a movie around the fact that one person is short – when in fact the actor playing the part has been digitally shrunk for the movie – politically correct? Couldn’t a short stature actor be found? Maybe Peter Dinklage was busy.
Overlook this issue and its funny and as I said, charming.
The characters (Diane and Alexandre) have great charisma and snappy dialogue and the bits with his dog are funny and made me laugh out loud.
There are cool songs and a great overall soundtrack. The ending was great! I got teary at the ending (that’s not hard mind you) and overall I found it entertaining to watch – just don’t think about the premise – or effects – too much.
While this is a romantic comedy, it is a little different (as only the French can do!) It’s quite charming and quirky but also thought provoking. It leaves you thinking about your own prejudices and outlook on life and love. Lots of laugh out loud moments – some expected and some not so expected. The soundtrack was fun (and I’m also, I am a bit obsessed with the character Diane’s shoes.)
Conflicted with this movie .
Had it’s funny moments , but also had me second thinking many .
Romantic with the comedy mixed in . Very different kind of storyline .interesting enough to watch till the end but wouldn’t watch again or say hey that was great n run out n watch lol
The characters were relatable enough. Storyline makes you rethink how shallow people can be.
Lots of laugh out loud moments .
Soundtrack was catchy and enjoyable .
I actually enjoyed this movie. With a good storyline behind it, the characters were lovable and I thought the acting was superb, even Diane’s mother!
The movie questions what is “normal” and highlights the struggles a person deals with every day if they are anything less than that and just goes to show how shallow some people really are.
Yes, Alexandre should not have been digitally enhanced and there was no need for extra big chairs, extra big cars and for Diane to be in heels, but all that aside, the movie was very entertaining.
Saw this movie with hubby tonight – his first time seeing a movie with subtitles. Diane leaves her phone in a restaurant without realising it, and Alexandre calls her and arranges to meet to return her phone to her. She is reluctant at first as she is separated from her husband who is also her partner in her law firm and is not seeing anyone. What she doesn’t expect to see is that Alexandre is 4’5″ and comes up to her bustline! He is an extremely charming single father of one and is immediately smitten with Diane. She tries so hard to forget his height despite being attracted to him.
There are some very funny moments in this movie especially with a large St Bernard dog and the face off with Diane’s ex husband. It’s a very pleasant rom-com and had a lovely ending where it really doesn’t make you question do we judge a book by its cover?!?
Thank you for providing the opportunity to see this movie.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie.. it was as quirky and fun and my weekly dose of a bit of romance! Nothing is amazing about it.. definitely come up short on a few occasions! Particularly Alexandre!
Thanks for giving me an opportunity to view this movie.. I’d give it 3 out of 5 stars:)
‘Up for love’ is a French sub titled romantic comedy. It was a little slow to start off with but once I got used to reading the sub titles and I got to know the characters I really warmed to the story.
Diane loses her phone in a restaurant after an argument with her former husband and current partner in a law firm. Alexandre collects the phone and rings Diane to return it to her and this is what starts, at times an unbelievable, relationship.
Alexandre is 4′ 5″ and Diane is a beautiful blonde tall woman. There is a slow romance blossoming throughout the movie but people’s expectations and prejudices sometimes get in the way of true love.
The movie is a warm hearted at times very humorous tale of two people falling in love. An undercurrent of how we let outside opinions and and our own expectations of what we think or feel is right can shadow our happiness.
I really enjoyed this film. I love foreign films and ‘Up For Love’ did not disappoint. A romantic comedy with a deeper meaning. It’s not just about two people falling in love but about prejudices people have . The film is quite thought provoking but very humorous at the same time. Loved the accompanying soundtrack . Thank you Beauty And Lace for giving me the opportunity to be at home and review this film.
The movie was enjoyable and provided lots of funny moments. It’s not often that we get foreign language movies in the cinemas so it was great to get a chance to see Up for Love. Despite the fact that it is a movie that looks at the prejudices of society and dating they still used an actor of average height with lots of visual effects which diminishes the message of the movie in my view.
Overall, it’s a light hearted romantic comedy that will have you thinking but will not blow you away.