Review

Sun-drenched Monaco is the perfect backdrop for this billowy romp that stars Luchini as Betrand, a straight-arrow Parisian barrister who’s come to the Riviera to defend a wealthy woman Edith (Audran) in a high-profile murder case. As the Russian mob is involved, he is assigned a chiseled bodyguard —- Christophe (Zem), who is reluctantly thrust into the role of chaperone when Bertrand has a chance encounter with the local weather girl, Audrey (Bourgouni). Audrey is a ramped-up, hyper-active, over-sexed party animal who threatens the very fiber of Bertrand's restrained being -— he, of course, cannot resist. Christophe, who once had his own fling with Audrey, is all too aware of the dangers and does everything in his power to keep Betrand's mind on the case. As she steers the film towards its eye-opening conclusion, Fontaine keeps the film true to its farcical roots, delivering plenty of laughs early on, even while she finds moments of depth in the developing relationships between her three main characters.

 -- Eric Moore