"2 Days in Paris" at the Grand Cinema

Julie Delpy, who I first saw in the wonderful 2004 film Before Sunset, writes, directs, starts, edits, and scores this film. And does it all quite well I must say.

Co-starring with Adam Goldberg, it’s the story of two young lovers who have just finished a trip to Venice and are staying with her parents in Paris for two nights before returning to their home in New York. As you might expect, the cultures clash—albeit, fairly gently—and the weaknesses of the relationship start to show.

What drives the story is the persistent feeling the Goldberg character gets that his girlfriend might be a little crazy, and that between bouts of craziness she slept with half of the men in Paris. At least, half of the men they meet.

But as a non-French speaker, he is left to the sidelines and ends up just kind of hanging out as she connects with old friends and, yes, lovers—forced to watch what is to him inexplicable behavior.

I feel like this movie is part of a large movie genre that could be summed up as follows. Boy meets girl. Girl is incredible, outgoing, sexy, and funny. Boy spends movie wondering why either a) whether she’s hiding something, because no one’s that amazing; b) why she would want a guy like him or c) how many men she’s slept with. Usually, they are most focused on the third one.

I’m thinking of recent movies like Keeping the Faith and Ira and Abby, but the genre goes back as far as Rear Window (where it’s a subplot, certainly, but it’s part of it).

That said, this movie handles an awkward sub-genre pretty well. If you’ve traveled abroad in a country where you didn’t speak the language and had to rely on a friend to translate, you’ll identify with Goldberg very readily.

The movie is romantic, funny, and easy to like. Delpy has done a very good job in all of her roles here. It’s a good choice if you’re looking for an off-beat comedy. I just wish that we could let Delpy be amazing and not have to worry about how well the guy handles it.

“2 Days in Paris” opens today at the Grand Cinema and runs until at least Thursday.