You may know the face of Jean Dujardin from the 2011 award winning film The Artist, the black and white silent film which won the hearts of critics and audiences alike worldwide. Now Dujardin is back as a pint-sized charmer in Up For Love, it may be quirky but it doesn’t hit the same buttons as The Artist.
In Up For Love, Dujardin plays a 4ft 5in man (aided with poor CG effects) with a heart of gold and full charm. He knows how to speak to women, confident and cocky on the surface he doesn’t let his lack of height stand in his way or become a hindrance in what he wants. What seems like a quirky little story becomes just a little too dull as the comedy comes mostly from the actions of Dujardin’s Alexandre rather than any clever dialogue. We see Alexandre knocked over on numerous occasions by his son’s over excited and over sized dog when he comes home.
Alexandre is a successful architect, after the attractive lawyer, Diane (Virginie Efira), who has a striking resemblance to 27 Dresses Katherine Heigl, leaves her phone behind at a restaurant, he takes possession of it and this subsequently leads to the pair meeting up for a date. Diane, who is going through a bitter separation with her husband and business partner, feels ready for a new relationship but this comes with its issues as she starts to fall for Alexandre.
It’s a rare thing to see the roles reversed in a film, it’s usually the men who have issues with the way women look, remember Shallow Hal? Well the message here comes from the female perspective, aren’t we all programmed to think that our prince charming comes in the form of a tall and handsome man? Good things aren’t supposed to come in small packages! This is exactly what Diane struggles with as she introduces Alexandre to her parents and feels embarrassed by the snide sniggering the pair is subjected to in public. This puts a strain on the relationship which can only make a comeback with a high-flying show of love.
As rom-coms go, Director Laurent Tirard has kept to a pretty safe and standard formula; It’s a shame as the French usually give us something a little different with a whole host of originality. Up For Love, whilst good to zone out to after a stressful day, just seems flat.
Up For Love is out Friday 5th August.