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Romantic comedies are not supposed to be "realistic". It's the genre. In Pretty Girl, Richard Gere, an uber-rich businessman, falls in love with a prostitute and they end up together. Realistic? Hardly. But everyone wants love to conquer all (and in the Rom Com genre, it does). One of the reviewers here lamented the depiction of Elsa, the female lead, as unlikable and awkward. In spite of her quirks, put-offs, and faux pas, we love her anyway and want her to succeed. That's the genre. Rom Coms are not meant to reinvent the wheel or cover new territory. If we're lucky, they are munchable mind-candy. If we're not, they are an annoying waste of time (we're talking about you, Jennifer Lopez). Most Rom Coms are terrible, sold by the weight of their leads. Throw Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks together (You Got Mail) and as terrible as the script may be, people will watch and extract what little blood can be squeezed from that anemic turnip.
Plan Coeur was delightful. It's nice to have something light and that doesn't require a huge commitment (there are eight (8) twenty-five minute episodes instead of 10-12 one-hour episodes) to invest for the ride. Yes, the story is implausible. Of course, it would never happen in real life, and if it did, everyone would be horrified and there would be no chance of redemption for any of the characters. Real life is not a genre. Romantic comedy is.
There is something honest about genre pieces in foreign languages and foreign settings. It isn't over the top. The characters are more subtle than they otherwise would be in their black-and-white counterparts in American cinema and television. Despite the exaggerated characters, the dialogue and the personalities ring more authentic than, say, 97% of the characters on Californication (or name your US-based Rom Com), even if the scenarios are not grounded in the same. I appreciate the stripped-down versions. Less is phoned-in, and more of the success of the show is based upon the story and the acting instead of the plot. In American Rom Coms, the scenarios often become so exaggerated to compensate for the sheer lack of thought, character development, or structure. This was a show that took its time to tell a simple story about a man and a woman meeting and falling in love under unlikely (improbable/ impossible) circumstances. But, for what it is, it works. I wish there would be more shows like Plan Coeur - fun, easy, endearing, mindless, but developed enough to be worth the while. While I would like to see more of this - in tone and levity - I would understand if there is not a second season. Within the Rom Com genre, there probably isn't anywhere for this story to evolve, unless subsequent seasons became more Sit Com instead of Rom Com.
Zita Hanrot, the actress who plays Elsa, is lovely for the part. Her naivete, honesty, and awkwardness translate without telegraphing. It's a fine line that she walks beautifully without overplaying. I hope to see more of her in the future.
Recommended.
score 8/10
SalsaBoy2010 20 December 2018
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4521685/ |
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2-2-2021 22:59:04