2 Days in Paris (DVD)

Julie Delpy wrote, directed and starred in this comedy about a couple, Marion (Delpy) and Jack (Adam Goldberg), that stops in Paris on the way home to New York after an Italian vacation. They've been together for a couple years and seem to have chemistry, but the two days they spend in Paris reveal some serious dysfunctions, culminating in circumstances that could break them up.

Marion narrates the film, so one would assume the story would be told from Marion's point of view (especially since Delpy plays, directed and wrote the character), but it's not. Instead, Jack is the character the audience connects with, since he is put through the ringer by Marion's friends and family a la "Meet the Parents." We sympathize with Jack because it seems like everyone in Paris is conspiring against him -- Marion's parents are derisive towards him, he's put in uncomfortable situations, and every single Frenchman in Paris is trying to get in Marion's pants.

Even more strangely, Delpy paints a terrible picture of Paris, rounded out by racist, abusive cabbies, artistic excesses, out-of-control libidos, and worst of all, crappy plumbing. And this is all very direct -- I don't think these were simply humorous sides. Could it be that Julie Delpy hates France? It sure seemed that way. Maybe she just considers it a fun caricaturization for American audiences.

Anyway, there's not much more plot to speak of than that -- it's a "walk and talk" movie, much like Delpy's other couple-focused films, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. This is the perfect stage for these actors, though, and both do a great job of playing flawed but likable characters. Goldberg channels an odd combination of Woody Allen and Larry David, sniffling and complaining about allergies half the time and relieving his misanthropic aggression the other half. Delpy is smart and sensitive, but also plays the clueless-liar part very well.

As for the story, it's pretty much a lot of misinterpreted physical contact, rational and irrational jealousy and, unlike most romantic comedies, a whole lot of communication at the end of the movie that, counter-intuitively, facilitates misunderstandings instead of clearing things up. Overall, it was funny, but not laugh out loud; touching, but not reach-for-the-kleenex touching. Worth a watch, but not a must-see.