The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
FIND MOVIES
Find a Movie
Movie List
Loading ...
or
Find Theaters and Movie Times
or
Search Movies
50_bands_2009_portland

Review: Chéri

As much esprit as a diorama
By PETER KEOUGH  |  June 24, 2009
2.0 2.0 Stars


VIDEO: The trailer for Chéri.

Once chic, French author Colette has fallen out of favor, perhaps because her acceptance of male dominance offends women's-libbers and her embrace of female carnality offends chauvinist men. Stephen Frears's adaptation of her 1920 novel won't revitalize her cachet; it has as much esprit as a diorama.

In Belle Époque Paris, aging courtesan Léa (a simpering Michelle Pfeiffer) falls in love with Chéri (a cadaverous Rupert Friend), the son of Léa's friend and rival Charlotte (Kathy Bates) and a roué half her age. He's infantile and she's maternal, but their bliss is cut short when Chéri marries a younger woman with more money.

Apart from the tone-deaf casting and a stuffy male narrator (definitely not Colette), Frears and screenwriter Christopher Hampton (not to mention Pfeiffer) fail to recapture the arch and melancholy tone of their Dangerous Liaisons. Only at the end do they touch on the real tragedy, which is not Léa growing older, but Chéri.

  Topics: Reviews , Social Issues, Movie Reviews, Stephen Frears,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

Today's Event Picks
ARTICLES BY PETER KEOUGH
Share this entry with Delicious

 See all articles by: PETER KEOUGH

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group