Duris and Paradis on fire in Heartbreaker

Aside from a handful of rare gems, Hollywood has been churning out sub-standard romantic-comedies for years now: take a look at any of the recent high profile releases and you will see flop after flop (even the highly-anticipated Sex and the City 2 failed to spark much public interest after a succession of poor reviews).

However, the recent release of Heartbreaker (L’Arnacoeur, directed by Pascal Chaumeil) has brought the European rom-com back to the greater public’s attention. With audiences tiring of the formulaic fare offered by the big American studios, it is no surprise that films like this are enjoying significant success.

Heartbreaker is a rom-com à la française, with the hero (a swarthy Romain Duris) hired to break up the engagement between a wealthy businessman’s daughter (Vanessa Paradis, face of Chanel and impeccably chic) and a dull Englishman (Andrew Lincoln, a rom-com fan favourite from Love Actually). Set in dazzlingly expensive Monaco, whilst we always know deep down that the beautiful leads twist are going to get together, the intricate and entertaining route they take to get there is pleasantly surprising.

However, the European rom-com is nothing new. Heartbreaker itself shares many similarities with the 2006 smash Priceless (Hors de Prix, directed by Pierre Salvadori); both are set against the stunning backdrop of the French Riviera, both involve mistaken identities and both feature top French actors in the lead roles (Audrey Tautou and comedian Gad Elmaleh).

On the evidence of these two films, the French rom-com is light, frothy and glamorous – Josiane Balasko’s 1995 film French Twist (Gazon Maudit) – another witty and aesthetically pleasing gem – adds weight to the argument. What makes the difference here is the eponymous twist: the archetypal French cinematic image of the ménage-à-trois actually revolves around one woman’s marriage – and her affair with a woman. Balasko utilises the typical vaudeville smut and subverts it (the film is rife with crude jokes and language; even the original title is a sexual pun) in order to confront the audience’s conventional ideas of gender and sexuality. This is clearly something a little more intellectual than the standard sappy plot of a romantic comedy.

The queer rom-com has also recently achieved success in Italy. Loose Cannons (Mine Vaganti) premiered in February this year and is soon to be released internationally. Ferzan Ozpetek’s film may seem out-dated to some, but in conservative Southern Italy, it is a daring portrayal of a young gay man’s ’outing’ to his family – with unexpected, and amusing, results. Similarly to the French offerings, Italian romantic comedies also exploit lush landscapes: Loose Cannons is set in gorgeous Lecce, while 2000’s Bread and Tulips (Pane e tulipani, directed by Silvio Soldini) tells the tale of a housewife who, fed up with her family’s attitude towards her, escapes to idyllic Venice and finds a new lease of life.

Take a lesson in Italian for beginners...

The romantic Italian stereotype is further perpetrated in a Danish film from the same year – Italian for Beginners (Italiensk for begyndere). Lone Scherfig’s characters convene at Italian evening classes and soon find that the lingua d’amore draws them together. Interestingly, this rom-com was made according to the Dogme 95 rules and so is more aesthetically challenging than would be expected from a ’chick-flick’.

Pedro Almodóvar’s 1990 film Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (¡Átame!) is another rom-com that is tricky to classify. A young Antonio Banderas plays a mentally unstable man who kidnaps old fling (and ex-porn star) Victoria Abril – also seen in French Twist – and attempts to persuade her to fall in love with him. Darkly comic and visually bright, it contains many of the Spanish master’s hallmarks, but is just camp enough to qualify as a comedy rather than a thriller.

It seems that camp could be the only way to make a romantic-comedy in Spain, reinforced by 2002’s exuberant musical-comedy The Other Side of the Bed (El Otro Lado de la Cama, directed by Emilio Martínez Lázaro). Best described as an ‘ambisexual romp’, the film is a sexy and summery addition to the rom-com genre.

Poland’s Just Love Me (Tylko mnie kochaj, 2006, by Ryszard Zatorski) is more conventional in its execution. Its plot revolves around a young, hip, have-it-all who suddenly discovers he has a daughter. Needless to say, complications ensue amid hilarity, but whilst the film lacks in originality, it is uplifting to watch a typical genre from a different perspective. Mostly Martha (2001, directed by Sandra Nettelbeck) spins a romantic tale in a food and cookery setting and was such a hit that it was even adapted for American audiences – becoming 2007’s No Reservations.

So as we can see, although the end results may always be as inevitable and as predictable as the last minute dash to declare undying love, the European rom-com is a highly recommended palate cleanser for anyone who has had their fill of romance the Hollywood-way.