FRENCH LOVER (France 2025) **½

Directed by Nina Rives

FRENCH LOVER is a romantic comedy that boasts French superstar Omar Sy in the title role.  Omar Sy rose to fame with his hit UNTOUCHABLES, which also highlighted his talent for comedy, once again displayed in FRENCH LOVER.

In FRENCH LOVER, Sy plays the model/actor that launches the fragrance FRENCH LOVER, as the blurb goes, “Je t’aime FRENCH LOVER.  The beginning sequence in which Abel Camara (Sy) portrays the actor in the advertising filming sequence is hilarious enough.  But Abel does not have a girlfriend, and he is in trouble as an actor because of his drug use and booze, resulting in the bad press, though there is hardly any of this shown in the film.  Except that he smokes a bit.

As far as romantic comedies go, there are few surprises in the Harlequin-type romance.  There is the odd first meeting of the couple, in this case, at a bar, in which a misunderstanding occurs when Marion (Sara Giraudeau) splashes a drink by accident on Abel’s shirt.  There are obstacles to the couple’s romance, which in this case is Abel’s star presence.  It does not take a genius to figure out that the couple will get together again.  There is also the customary best friend of the male (Alban Ivanov in a wasted and underwritten role), who, in this case, is his childhood buddy.  The best thing about the film is, as expected, Omar Sy, who spreads his charm in most scenes, and he is a funny actor, especially when doing his dance moves.  Even then, Sy is unable to save director Rives’ (MESRINE Parts 1 and 2, TAXI 4) romantic comedy.

FRENCH LOVER opens for streaming on Netflix Friday, September 26th.

Trailer: