My partner and I went with a whole group of friends to see "Merci Docteur Rey" at the Reel Affirmations Film Festival (in Washington) and we all left the theatre fully in the film's thrall. It is not a `faux French farce' at all - because it's not a French farce! The director is American and although he gets the Paris stuff perfectly right, `Paris' is no more than a backdrop, a set piece. The interiors all look like they were shot in studio anyway. It's in a world of its own. Elegant. Sort of like early Blake Edwards. More much more `American' than `French', though - more a screwball comedy than a Feydeau farce! What a smart script. Couldn't hear half the lines because the crowd was laughing so loud. Hard to believe it's the director's first movie - it has a mature look and style.
Review of Merci Docteur Rey
