User Reviews

Marilou Berry has inherited her mother's looks, build and acting talent though mum, of course, also writes and directs; maybe in time Marilou will try her hand at the other two disciplines but meantime she shows here that she can carry a movie alone. She plays Melanie, a girl working in a restaurant attached to a filling station, fine, dependable and generally all-round good egg until she decides enough is enough and allows her dark side to fight its way to the surface. We are, remember, talking comedy here so don't expect too great an about turn but one of the highlights is when Melanie handcuffs bride-to-be Fredericque Bel - about the only other person in the cast I've seen previously - already in her wedding dress, to a radiator. Actually I lied, that in itself is not a highlight, what IS is when Bel yanks the radiator off the wall and turns up in the church for the ceremony still wearing it. Pleasant, undemanding fare but Josie can be proud of her kid.

Melanie has a big problem. She came too late as beauty was being handed out. Because of her lateness, she has to struggle in order to make it through life because there are always those more fortunate friends who think nothing about making Melanie the butt of all their cruelty. When we meet her, she is working at a small bistro where her sleazy boss thinks she is a slave. Melanie and her undocumented Senegalese co-worker have to carry on with the business.

To add insult to injury, there are a trio of Melanie's so-called friends that get a kick out of tormenting Melanie. Aurore, who acts as the leader of friends, is getting married soon. The others, Blandine and Jessica, go along for the fun of it. One day Melanie decides to put an end to the cruel jokes she has endured from the three bitches, and decide to get her own revenge, which is nothing more than asserting herself, proving to her so-called friends she put one over them. She will not be mocked anymore, not by these idiots, or her boss.

In the meantime, Melanie is puzzled by a secret admirer who has been sending her beautiful flowers. However much she tries to find out about his identity, she gets nowhere. So, it comes to a complete surprise when she finds who her admirer is, almost losing him in the process. Melanie turns out to be the one who laughed last in this funny movie.

The film boasts two directors: Jean-Patrick Benes, and Allan Mauduit, who also are the authors of the screenplay in which the film is based. In a way, the film kept reminding us of the American television sitcom, "Ugly Betty", which in turn is a remake of a Colombian original program "Betty, la fea", a big hit throughout Latin countries. But the comparisons end right there. The premise is basically the same, a non too well put together woman must suffer the jokes and injustices of being the butt of the more fortunate women, which is the case of Melanie.

The creators of the film were lucky in getting Marilou Berry, who is the daughter of Josiane Balasko and Phillippe Berry and the niece of actor Richard Berry. The actress has an uncanny resemblance to her more famous mother, but she is the main reason for watching this French comedy; she steals the picture because in spite of her desire of avenging herself, she is not a mean person. Her Melanie just wants to be left alone to do with her life what she wants. Frederique Bel, Pierre Francois Martin-Laval, Josephine De Meaux, and Alice Pol, do great supporting work.