Two Frenchman find themselves in a bizarre love triangle in the romantic comedy APRES VOUS. Antoine, played by Daniel Auteuil, stumbles across the attempted suicide of fellow Frenchman Louis, Jose Garcia. After saving Louis’s life, Antoine also tries to help the desperate man in his recovering. He puts Louis up in his home, provides him with employment at the restaurant he manages and secretly tries to reunite Louis with Blanche, his lost love. While Antoine attempts to reunite Louis with Blanche, he begins to fall for her.
Similar to MUST LOVE DOGS, APRES VOUS is another two-man/one-woman love triangle where the writing drains the charm created by the leads. Where MUST LOVE DOGS scripting was overly cutesy, APRES VOUS feels too calculated and controlling. There are several nice moments between Auteuil and Garcia, Auteuil and Sandrine Kiberlan, and Kimberlan and Garcia. Yet despite these moments, there’s far too much plotting and plodding involved. The romantic tension between all parties is played out several times over, leaving the well-thought out ending as an after-thought. Regardless of the screenplay, the three actors make APRES VOUS fairly enjoyable. It’s refreshing to see Auteuil succeed at something lighter, in contrast to his work in Patrice Leconte’s pictures; while Garcia and Kimberlan bring unique qualities to their original characters. APRES VOUS isn’t a bad film, just one which seems to be trying too hard.
Grade: C+
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