2 Days in Paris

Samuel Goldwyn Films Present. . .

2 Days in Paris **1/2
Directed by Julie Delpy
Written by Julie Delpy

Starring:
Julie Delpy as Marion
Adam Goldberg as Jack
Marie Pillet as Anna
Albert Delpy as Jeannot
Aleksia Landeau as Rose

96 Minutes(Rated R for sexual content, some nudity, and language).
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When it came time to review the Julie Delpy film "2 Days in Paris" I was a bit conflicted. I hard a hard time reflecting on if I felt it warranted a recommendation or not. In the end, I cannot tell people that they should see this movie over better comedies out there-like "Rocket Science" for example-but there are many aspects and scenes and ideas that Delpy presents which I did like and found right on target. But there are far too many scenes that would work more on a sitcom, and the two main characters-and actors for that matter-hardly have any chemistry, or are believable as a couple at all. Why Delpy chose Adam Goldberg, who is fairly decent at times but nothing special, is a mystery considering this is easily a pet project of hers. For he seems like a complete wrong choice to me.

Delpy plays Marion, a French woman living in America with her boyfriend Jack. The two of them have just spent a few weeks in Italy, and are now going to spend the final two days of their vacation in Paris, staying with Marion's parents, Anna and Jeannot-played by Delpy's real life parents. Jack can't seem to keep his snide remarks to himself, and after directing a group of women wearing Bush 04 shirts, and carting around copies of the Da Vinci Code on their way to the Lourve, in the wrong direction, he becomes constantly scared of germs in the area. God forbid he get sick, and many scenes are spent with him worrying about his health. Soon enough Jack learns that Marion has been around the block many times, and has slept with almost every guy that she bumps into. And their relationship is put to the test when Jack can't seem to handle all of this new information about the woman he figured that he'd spend the rest of his life with.

Delpy borrows a lot from the style of her friend Richard Linklater-who wrote and directed "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset." There is a lot of images of Paris here, although Delpy never gives us any nice lush visuals to muse over considering their is so much to see in the city. Instead she focuses on herself and Goldberg's Jack, who have one never ending conversation after the other, only it never seems real. All of the characters political views seem forced, including the constant Bush bashing that is just a trend in independent film. Their are also references to fast food, as if Delpy saw Linklater's "Fast Food Nation" and wanted to also make a statement about that food. A comment "Fast food? I hear there's sh*t in the meat," the exact foundation of "Fast Food Nation," is said over a random shot of Paris, as if Delpy just inserted that in post production after seeing the Linklater film-which, for lack of a better term, sucked. There is also an extended scene in a fast food restaurant that was pretty much pointless.

What did I enjoy? I liked Delpy's on target depiction of a couple in a world where one of the two are easily superior just because of culture. I could relate to many scenes as Goldberg's character. Having a friend of another language I could feel for Jack as he sat at the dinner table with his girlfriend having to translate everything he says, or sitting there in the middle as everyone speaks something different. Scenes like this work, but when its just the two of them talking or fighting, the film falls flat. And they talk about so much useless crap that when they have their final confrontation, all we get to hear is Delpy voice over narration. And just like that, the movie is over. I just wish that Delpy would have put a little more effort into actually making some sort of poem to her country. At times I feel like she is affection towards her country, and than at others she is just plain mean to it. "2 Days in Paris" does not work in the end, even though I could see that Delpy did try. Maybe she should put some effort into creating a movie that doesn't want to borrow from Linklater, or have a hidden political agenda that just seems forced and tacked on. This is good first try.

Now playing at:
Angelika Film Center
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas