Young and single, she flies in from the United States to France for work and finds a whirlwind romance instead. Yes, yes, we’ve seen this one already.
Except that no, this isn’t “Emily in Paris”, but Netflix’s latest rom-com film with a Christmas-branded take on some less-than-original tearjerking schmaltz.
The story
Junior manager Sydney is sent to Paris to help her company acquire the prestigious champagne label Château Cassell just before Christmas.
Exploring the festively decorated city on her own with a promise to keep her head down (“I don’t have time for sightseeing”), she soon meets the Frenchman Henri in a bookshop.
Between the Eiffel Tower and a bridge over the Seine they spend magical romantic hours together before the bubble bursts the next morning when they both make a surprise discovery that impacts her work in Paris.
If the story feels familiar so far, then the rest of the film will feel very predictable.
The characters
Minka Kelly, crowned Sexiest Woman Alive in 2010, plays Sydney with an innocently sultry glance and pleasant smile. Opposite her, Tom Wozniczka is an easy-on-the-eyes Henri.
Their characters yearn for an orderly happiness without drama and are a touch strait-laced. That is fair and true to life, but for outsiders it is a bit like listening to the neighbours’ pillow talk, only mildly exciting.
Champagne magnate Hugo Cassell (Thibault de Montalembert) is fatherly and well-meaning, while the German Otto (Flula Borg) comes across as stiff and overly correct. He is Sydney’s rival for the champagne brand, as is the distinguished Frenchwoman Brigitte.
Stirring things up is Roberto (Sean Amsing), a gay millionaire who also wants the company because he loves serving the noble fizz at his parties.
The script and the setting
The film radiates a rose-tinted plush cosiness. The twinkling Eiffel Tower is present, as are Paris’s glittering lights and of course the snow-dusted baroque little chateau of the Cassell family, where patriarch Hugo plans to decide on a buyer.
It is a setting and film far removed from the world’s problems.
The script, meanwhile, holds plenty of howlers and groaners, some more, some less cringe-inducing. A selection:
“Château Cassell turns my troubles into bubbles.” (Roberto on why he wants to buy the brand.)
“With over a thousand varieties in France alone, cheese is more than food. It’s part of our culture, our history. To get to know France, it’s to get to know and love cheese.” (during a tasting)
“We have a saying in Germany: ‘Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei’. Which is ‘Everything has an end, except for sausage, which has two.'” (Otto trying to be funny.)
“Champagne problems? It just means your problems aren’t really that bad. Most people would feel lucky to have your worries.” (Sydney on her experiences in France.)
“Sometimes, you can live a whole life in just one day. I had a great life today.” (Henri to Sydney on their first evening.)
How does it make you feel?
Like you’ve drunk a bit too much mulled wine, given nearly two hours of sugar-sweet romance. In return your head feels pleasantly empty and ready for dreams of sparkling lights and Christmas romance.
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