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Happiness Never Comes Alone couldn’t
be more of a chick flick if it tried. Sacha Keller (Gad Elmaleh) is a
carefree
bachelor who plays the piano in a bar, in exchange for free drinks all
night
and composes jingles for commercials. He has a continuous flow of
twenty-something year old girls travelling in and out of his life and
his
bedroom. His life is completely turned upside down when he meets
accident prone
Charlotte (Sophie Marceau) and it is love at first sight for the two of
them.
Things become completely complicated when he finds out that Charlotte
is not
only a mother of three, but also that she is the separated wife of a
very
powerful man who could ruin him.
The
good thing about Happiness Never Comes
Alone is that it is very light and an easy watch.
It
is a bit of fun and if you feel you need a break from blockbuster
season and
don’t want to watch anything too heavy, this will do the job. Yet it
leaves you
feeling unfulfilled. There is no real emotional attachment to any
character or
any part of the movie and you leave the cinema trying to figure out
what the
point of the film was. It just all seems a little too simple. You’re
not quite
sure what you are supposed to have learnt from it or what the lesson is
you are
supposed to take away from it.
However,
it is not all bad news. There are some very funny moments throughout
the film.
Some of Sacha’s lines are very funny and Charlotte’s bad luck antics
are
hilarious. Of course you feel sorry for her, but she’s hilarious at the
same
time. The script is well written, it is just a shame the story isn’t
stronger. The
cinematography is quite beautiful and contains some amazing photography
of
Paris. In particular, the scenes in Sacha’s apartment, which are filmed
from
outside the window and show the reflection of the Sacre-Coeur Basilica
are
incredible.
The
most irritating part of Happiness Never
Comes Alone is the over the top use of music. When a romantic
scene is
taking place, a love song such as Etta James’ “At Last” comes on at
full
volume. It just seems so overdone that you are expecting something
comical to
happen, or this scene is only really happening in the characters mind
and the
opposite is actually taking place.
Both
Gad Elmaleh and Sophie Marceau do well, but neither gives the
performance of
their career. Elmaleh is commendable in his role and his character
development
is very good. However, it isn’t a particularly strong performance. His
anger
doesn’t come across as being angry enough and his hurt not painful
enough.
Sophie Marceau does do better than Elmaleh in this department. Her
performance
packs more of an emotional punch. There is no denying though that these
two do
have a great chemistry on screen. There may not have been much of a
point to Happiness Never Comes Alone, but regardless
it does bring a smile to your face.
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