Jet Lag

a real charmer
***1/2 "Jet Lag" is a French romantic comedy that takes place almost entirely in an airport terminal and an airport hotel. Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno are two strangers who meet at the Paris airport and end up sharing a room when all flights are cancelled due to an air traffic controllers strike (think of how this affair would have been thwarted had Reagan been France's president at the time!). Rose and Felix are both riddled with insecurities and anxieties, having been largely unlucky in the ways of love. Yet, after some predictable initial tension between them, they somehow manage to find a mutual strength - and attraction - in their combined weaknesses.

"Jet Lag" is so simple and unassuming in its early stages that we are amazed to discover, about a third of the way through, just how completely it has managed to sneak up on us and win us over. Unlike most American romantic comedies, "Jet Lag" allows its characters to actually talk and get to know one another. It sure...

Another Parisian Surprise
JET LAG is a rare treat. It is a smart, saucy film that takes two well known actors and gives then a chance to play different types and the result is very successful.

Juliette Binouche steps into the tacky clothes and glitzy makeup of a superficial loquacious beautician who needs her makeup, perfumes, and wacky clothes to complete her 'self', an unlucky-at-love waif on her way to Acapulco from the Charles DeGaulle airport. She encounters a neurotic, fastidious (except for his groungy hair and beard) chef play by the usually dark 'hitman' Jean Reno and because of strikes in the Paris airlines and trains preventing scheduled flights, she agrees to share a room wiht him for the night until their separate flights are available. Well, of course, the 'odd couple' find subtle but strong needs in the opposite persons and the way their rather bizarre cohabitation results in their mutual and individual awakenings is the source of the plot and the delight for the viewer. Both Binouche and...

a little gem
One of my perennial romantic comedy favorites, this French film is delightful. The sets, as well as the characters, are very colorful and the actors who play them (Jean Reno and Juliette Binoche) are marvelous. This movie is always a lovely rewatch. The only lamenting thing about rewatching it is realizing how pitifully and dully Hollywood makes romantic comedies.

Click to Editorial Reviews