Please, Please Me (Fais-moi plaisir)
There are echoes of Blake Edward's The Party in Emmanuel Mouret's French farce, Please, Please Me. While the story doesn't revolve entirely around a party for its setting, it does focus on the antics of a character who is hopelessly out of his depth - even before he gets to the party!
Jean-Jacques (Mouret) lives with his partner, Ariane (Frédérique Bel). She is convinced that he fantasises about other women, but also believes this is normal, and so she encourages him to go out with a woman he met fleetingly, while trying out a friend's infallible pick-up technique.
He ends up spending the evening with the daughter of the French President, at a party in a fancy apartment.
The labyrinthine residence with its talking malfunctioning speech-controlled elevator and extravagant decor provide Mouret with many opportunities to exploit his bumbling character. Aside from abundant physical comedy opportunities, the house and the party's elaborate nature enhance just how out of his league this character is.
The music provides a strong presence in the film, as well as helping to maintain its mood and momentum.
It seems romantic comedies have become Mouret's schtick, and as such, Please, Please Me is superior to his previous film, Shall We Kiss (Un baiser s'il vous plait), though the other film is not without its charm.
Please, Please Me premiered in Melbourne at the 2010 Alliance Française French Film Festival, which is where this viewer first saw it. It's funnier, and even more charming, the second time around.