French Kiss (1995)

Sometimes a romantic comedy comes along that pulls at so many strings and is appealing on so many levels that you have to watch it at least once or twice a year...this movie happens to be one of those special treats.

Paris becomes her own character in this beautiful comedy filled with the romance of a great city all under the watch of the sparkling Eiffel. This movie is directed by Lawrence Kasdan and he works the film around beautiful scenic French views leaving viewer's that love Paris breathless and begging for more. The storyline is humorous and the actors perfectly cast in roles that they seem natural at playing. The film is effortless to watch and that must be why it draws me in year after year.

Meg Ryan plays a woman engaged to Timothy Hutton in a boring and predictable little relationship. Things change drastically when Hutton goes to Paris on business and leaves Ryan at home because she is afraid to fly. But there is nothing like an old jealous heart to overcome such a silly phobia and Ryan finds herself on a plane to Paris to save her man from the arms of a beautiful young Parisian. Aboard the plane she meets Kevin Kline, who represents all things stereotypically French! Ryan is always perfect as the girl next door who stumbles about trying to stay in love. She is cute and perky as usual. Hutton is staid and serious until he is seduced by a vibrant and passionate French woman and begins his mid-life crisis falling for the belief that this seductress wants him and not his salary. Kline is convincingly French, with his wild haired and open minded talk, his always present dismissing pout and his passion for life. The fun begins as the plane lands in Paris and it never ends.

If you love France this film will romance you many times over. The cast is great together and the romantic comedy great for the heart. From the most romantic city in the world Kasdan gives us a new reason to dance and a desire to kiss as the French do!

I have loved this movie for some time, and just saw it again. It's entertaining, sweet, and plain old fun.

It maybe isn't the most realistic, but for romantic escapism, it's tops. Kevin Klein is great here, as usual, and believable as a Frenchman thief who finds his heart stolen by a whimsical, befuddled woman (Meg Ryan).

I'm not a big Meg Ryan fan, but she's wonderful in this piece, and makes a remarkable transformation on screen from horrified, squeaky girl to remarkable and capable woman. Klein undergoes a similar softening transformation. It's a subtle and gradual change for both, and the effectiveness and tightness of the screenplay and dialog contribute to a wonderfully-entertaining overall product that I can watch over and over again.

The pacing is great and the supporting characters (particularly the concierge at the hotel) are wonderful and help contribute to the fun.

I had a copy, but a friend "borrowed" it indefinitely. Now that's a sincere endorsement.

Buy French Kiss (1995) Now

Romantic comedies need that perfect couple. Once you've got Meg Ryan, you're more than halfway there. Kevin Kline steps up to the plate here, with enchanting results.

Kline's stereotypical Frenchman (Luc) is as convincing (that accent!) as he is funny. His uber-casual, morally lax attitude is well complemented by Ryan's uptight, loquacious American/wannabe-Canadian (Kate). The movie rolls along at a merry pace from Canada to Paris to Nice and Provence, all with distinctive, eclectic music. The locations are beautiful and serve nicely as foils for the wacky partnership of Luc and Kate, as do the songs (in French and English). Check out the end credits when Kevin Kline sings "La Mer."

The chemistry between Luc and Kate works like it does in screwball comedies a lot of bickering sexual tension but somehow the best and most revealing scenes are the ones where there is no dialogue (Luc and his vine, lost in Paris, train to Nice, Luc's family, dancing). The script is a little lacking, but Ryan and Kline are charming during these quiet moments.

As you can imagine, with all this dualism of French and English, there is a lot of national humor but I think the best summary of the movie is when Kate, who has lost everything (money, love, passport), wisely realizes, "I am without country." Of course, she means this literally, but that wistfulness conveys more. The differences between nationalities become irrelevant when it's really about fulfillment and dreams, which aren't bound by country lines.

Read Best Reviews of French Kiss (1995) Here

We've seen it before (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle) and since (You Have Mail), but Meg Ryan is indisputably The Right One for this cutesy-yet-not-too-slushy romantic comedy lark.

Aviophobic bride-to-be Kate (Ryan) is enthusiastically preparing for the lavish wedding when her fiancé flies off to Paris on a medical conference ... only to 'phone-in a few days later with the startling announcement that Kate should cease wedding arrangements forthwith as ... he has fallen in love with a Frenchwoman. Disbelievingly, Kate faces her mortal fear of flying to get to Paris and shake him out of his infatuation. On the aeroplane she sits next to petty thief Luc Teyssier (Kevin Kline Gérard Dépardieu declined the rôle). Exchanging stereotypical national dislikes, it is hate at first sight.

Or is it ...? Ryan is ever-cuddly and ever-so-slightly-ditzy, whilst Kline is perfectly-accented and stubbled, oozing a pretty darn convincing Gallic charm. Kate's rebuttals by the Georges Cinq's stoic Concièrge she puts down 100 Francs as a bribe; he simply takes it are a treat. And so is her animated air-fighting following the theft of her luggage "Oh man ... ma stuff, man ..." Almost as a fil rouge, Kate's wanderings through the City of Light include constantly not seeing the Eiffel Tower ... until she is on a train leaving Paris. Kate's earlier opinion of loser Luc turns via promiscuous rascal to grudging respect upon discovering that he is, in fact, a Man With A Plan, from a background in fine wine; that moment is quite poignant ... Hovering in the background is avuncular detective-sergeant Jean (Léon) Réno who is aware of Luc's family history as well as his current jewellery-smuggling, but who owes Luc a never-fully-explained life debt. It is he who actually rescues the mis-matched couple ...

Anybody who says "They don't make 'em like they used to ..." should swallow those ill-chosen words as the 1990s have produced endearing romantic comedies to counter the numerous over-the-top petroleum-jelly & mayhem Action Blockbusters. French Kiss may be a trifle formulaic, but its superbly-nostalgic soundtrack Charles Trenet's rendition of Verlaine's 'Blesse Mon Coeur' is wonderfully evocative of an autumn stroll in Paris and the fine interaction between Ryan and Kline help make this one of the more memorable and heartwarming feel-good films of the decade.

Want French Kiss (1995) Discount?

Despite the badmouthing this film receives from various "professional" critics, one would do well to ask a Meg Ryan or a Kevin Kline fan what THEY thought of the movie. As a fan of both actors, let me say this is one of my favorite films (as in I've watched it over 20 times). I liked the comedy, the development of characters, the story, Meg's facial expressions, Kevin's French accent... You name it, I thought it all added up to an enjoyable movie!

Save 24% Off