Comedian-turned-actor Jamel Debbouze ("Amelie," "Days of Glory") plays Andr , a small-time North African criminal with a U.S. green card and a knack for lying and getting himself deeply in debt the kind that gets you tossed off the Eiffel Tower for nonpayment.
Under pressure from seedy Parisian underworld types, Andr tries to plead and con his way out of his predicament but to no avail. He finds himself perched on a bridge ready to drown himself in the Seine when he spies a woman thrashing about in the water, apparently a fellow suicide attempt. Temporarily snapped out of his own despondence, Andr leaps into the river and pulls her to safety.
Her name is Angela, and she is no ordinary woman. Played by Danish model Rie Rasmussen (you may remember her as a brunet making out with Rebecca Romijn in "Femme Fatale"), she stands a full head taller than Andr and looks as if she stepped out of a teenage boy's fantasy, with legs up to here and a tiny black dress that barely covers there. The comically mismatched duo share some borderline metaphysical conversation that leans more toward Dr.
Phil than Descartes and meander through a gorgeously shot, depopulated Paris (it's nearly as empty as London in "28 Days Later") with Angela teaching Andr the power of looking in the mirror and saying, "Je t'aime." Dialogue and two-handers have never been the forte of Besson who, per the Internet Movie Database, has accumulated an astonishing 68 producing and 22 writing credits since "Messenger." Although Angela is perfectly in line with any number of Besson heroines and does her share of derri re-kicking, the director's pacing seems adrift without his usual array of stunts and effects to fill the lulls.
In essence, you get "It's a Wonderful Life" meets "Wings of Desire," swapping out the substance for self-help platitudes. If you can get past that, you can enjoy it as a 90-minute look at a lovely postcard. "Angel-A.
" MPAA rating: R for language and some sexual content. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes. In French with English subtitles.
In selected theaters.
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