Prête-moi ta main (2006)

Prête-moi ta main is a French romantic film drama first released in 2006, directed by Eric Lartigau.  The film stars Alain Chabat, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bernadette Lafont, Wladimir Yordanoff and Grégoire Oestermann.  It has also been released under the title: I Do: How to Get Married and Stay Single.  Our overall rating for this film is: very good.


Ever since an adolescent love affair ended in a humiliating break-up, Luis Costa has remained a dedicated bachelor, devoted to his career as a perfumer.  But he is now 43 and his mother and five sisters have decided that it is time for him to get married.   Unable to resist the combined might of such a formidable female onslaught, Luis agrees and the next thing he knows he is being thrown into a round of blind dates that all end in disaster.  Exasperated, Luis concocts a plan that he believes will save him from the mire of matrimonial mediocrity.  He will hire a girl to play the part of his girlfriend, he will announce that he intends to marry this girl, and on the day of the wedding she will conveniently fail to turn up for the marriage ceremony.  His mother and five sisters will be so moved by his anguish at this rejection that they will never again raise the subject of marriage and Luis will be a free man for ever!  Or so he thinks.  If ever a plan had a chance of going horribly awry, this is it...

Prête-moi ta main offers a welcome respite from the blizzard of vulgar, trite and overly Americanised comedies that have assailed French cinema in recent years.  This is a return to basics – a witty, engaging and original romantic comedy of the kind that has an immense appeal to French and international audiences alike, and the presence of stars of the calibre of Charlotte Gainsbourg and Bernadette Lafont certainly adds to its charms. 

It is worth the price of the cinema ticket just to see the scene in which Alain Chabat (very fetching in his fishnet stockings and high heels) receives the full dominatrix treatment from Gainsbourg.  Anyone who can watch this scene without falling off his seat in a fit of hysterics must either be stuck to his seat with a huge dollop of superglue or else be seriously lacking the humour gene.

This film is the third hit in a row for director Eric Lartigau, following his very popular first two films: Mais qui a tué Pamela Rose (2003) and Un ticket pour l’espace (2006).  Prête-moi ta main may not achieve the cult status of these two films, but it is just as enjoyable and highly recommended for lovers of French comedy.

© filmsdefrance.com 2008

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