Priceless

It has one of those titles that's impossible to live up to, but Priceless doesn't trifle itself with such matters. Lighter than a soufflé, the film centers on the lives of the tres riche and those who wish to join them as they make the rounds of parties, restaurants, shops and hotels in the South of France.

In one of those sumptuous hotels, we meet Jean (Gad Elmaleh), a hard worker at the beck and call of the glitterati. A few floors and thousands of euros away, Irene (Audrey Tautou) beds down with her latest sugar daddy. But when he passes out drunk before her birthday dinner, she flounces down to the bar for a late drink or six. She mistakes Jean - now tending bar - for another tuxedoed millionaire, and the two tie one on. They wind up in a swanky suite together, thanks to Jean's passkey. The next morning, he awakens alone - the bird has flown with her keeper. One year later, the couple returns, and Irene and Jean tryst again like they did last summer. Unfortunately, this time her old man catches on, and sets her free. She turns to Jean as her new banker, only to learn his true identity. While he is smitten, she is furious, and proceeds to run through his entire life savings in revenge. That lasts about a week.

Irene immediately moves on to another man, and Jean's about to move into the arms of the gendarmes, when he's saved by a rich older woman. The two young anti-heroes are kept in the same hotel, and Irene, taking pity on Jean, teaches him the ropes of gigolo-hood. But of course, the best-laid plans of heartless moneygrubbers will fall by the wayside when love rears its ugly head.

Elmaleh is apparently known as the Jerry Seinfeld of France (for both his comedic skills and his religious affiliation), and he's a sweet, goofy presence in the film. As he makes his way in the world of high prices and low morals, he starts to become an adept lady-killer, but he's really only doing it to be near Irene. Tautou, quite possibly skinnier than a rail, is harder to warm up to as the flinty gold digger who tramples his heart and his wallet, but as she softens, so does the viewer. The chemistry between the two is effervescent, like a bottle of fine champagne neither can afford. Priceless may be more fluff than substance, but for those who like their romantic farces dressed in couture, it's worth the price of entry.

Photo courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films