Media Credit: courtesy Daniel Auteuil, right, and Dany Boon, left, in"My Best Friend." "My Best Friend" is a dramedy about two people on the lowest rungs of the social ladder and the opportunity they get to ultimately improve themselves. It is an effective character study with some humorous and dramatic sections that make the film worth seeing.
Francois Coste (Daniel Auteuil) is an antiques dealer who isn't very personable and incredibly selfish. He only cares about his affairs, not taking the time to give a thought to others around him. His associates at the dealership are well aware of this, so when he insists he has a best friend, they are skeptical and bet him to produce this friend in ten days.
Bruno (Dany Boon) is the complete opposite, yet he too finds himself without a friend. He is so personable and talkative that anyone he knows is driven away from him. When the two first meet, Francois disregards Bruno, but as soon as he sees how sociable he is, he tries to learn from him on how to be social, and thus gain a friend.
This leads to a comical scene at a park in which Francois goes up to random people and tries to talk to them. He makes various errors which make the people try to get away from him. It is quite funny to see a man clearly out of his element here.
The fish-out-of-water aspect of the film just goes to show how great of a performance Auteuil puts on. He is incredibly stoic and emotionless for most of the film, and when he finally tries to break his shell, it is very believable. Boon, as Bruno, goes through a varying range of emotions throughout the film.
His character at first seems to be jolly and kind, but as the film goes on and more is discovered about the character, he takes a more serious side. Boon goes through these emotions naturally and portrays the character extremely well. The film does start a bit slowly with some scenes that don't really hit their mark in terms of comedy.
The humor in this section is a bit unfunny and might lead some to dislike the film at first. However, as soon as Francois and Bruno meet, the film starts rolling, hitting comedic and dramatic notes effectively. It is humorous to see Francois desperately seeking advice about friendships from Bruno, not realizing that Bruno is the answer to all of his problems.
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