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Dianne Wiest,
Dianne Wiest,
Jane Birkin,
more...
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Andrew Litvack,
Andrew Litvack
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: Image Entertainment
: Comedies, Foreign, France, Gay & Lesbian, Features
: 92 min.
: English, French
: English, Spanish
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After making a living by providing English subtitle translation to numerous French films, American filmmaker Andrew Litvack makes his debut as a writer/director with the Merchant Ivory production Merci Docteur Rey. Set in Paris, this farcical comedy involves the troubles of young gay man Thomas (Stanislas Merhar). First his opera diva mother, Elisabeth (Dianne Wiest), comes for a visit and she doesn't know he's gay. When he accepts a blind date with someone from an online chat room, he ends up witnessing a murder and possibly discovering the identity of his real father. Eventually he ends up telling his story to a therapist, who is instead replaced by unstable voice-over actress Penelope (Jane Birkin). Also includes cameo appearances by Vanessa Redgrave, Simon Callow, Bulle Ogier, and Jerry Hall. Merci Docteur Rey was shown at the 2002 Mill Valley Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
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| And thank YOU, Andrew Litvak!
by talltale
August 19, 2005 - 6:31 AM PDT
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1 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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With a cast this good--and diverse--and a director who may not know how (or care) to produce standard comedy effects but clearly understands how to give good performers their best chance, MERCI DOCTEUR REY will probably become one of those movies that 10 per cent of us call classic and the other 90 loathe. Count me among the 10. (To be fair, the only other vote registered on this service, gave the movie a "1" to my "9".)
A low-key paean to the delights of narcissism and diva-dom and a clever rap on the knuckles of sloppy psychotherapy, "Merci" brings together Dianne Wiest as an opera-star mom, her adorable son (Stanislas Merhar of "Dry Cleaning" fame), Jane Birkin as the titular shrink's patient, Bulle Ogier as an opera director, Simon Callow as "the man" and a great cameo from Vanessa Redgrave. (Even Jerry Hall seems at home in this illustrious company!) Writer/director Andrew Litvak has assembled a screw-ball comedy where the chuckles start small; if you're still there by film's ends (it has around four of them, but since three are hilarious, you won't mind), you may be sporting a grin as wide as your face.
The biggest gem among these actor jewels is Jane Birkin. Is there another performer who can use her gawky, horsy charm to such wonderful effect? Dont think so. The "wallflower" scene alone is worth a world of lesser movies. Merchant/Ivory-produced, the film didnt even make it into specialized release (though it appears to have been popular at certain film festivals). Thank god for DVDs! |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 4.82)
11 Votes
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