Marilou Berry Movies
- 2007
Just how much damage can a homely, socially-taunted pariah wield against her neighbors when revenge is the order of the day? Such is the question at the heart of Vilaine (AKA Ugly Melanie), widely regarded as the (unofficial) "nasty opposite" of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's audience-pleaser Amelie. Though she is initially a sweetheart who delights in acts of kindness to others, obese and klutzy Melanie (Marilou Berry) seldom, if ever, elicits any gratitude from the recipients of her generosity. This sets the stage for a nasty and startling reversal when Melanie's sexy, svelte cousin, Aurore (Frederique Bel) pushes her to the edge with a cruel prank - the lie that Melanie has a Valentine's Day suitor. Melanie grows so distraught that a torrent of pent-up rage emerges and prompts her to undertake hideous, cathartic revenge on the innocents around her, including a number of small pets. Directors Jean-Patrick Benes and Allan Mauduit approach the material as transgressive, jet-black comedy that challenges accepted standards and frequently lapses into deliberate bad taste. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marilou Berry, Frederique Bel, (more)
A suicidal police detective travels from La Havre to Deauville at the behest of a mysterious femme fatale in the suspenseful sophomore feature from actress-turned-director Sophie Marceau. For Lt. Jacques Renard (Christopher Lambert), every night is a struggle. Rendered sleepless following the untimely death of his beloved wife, Lt. Renard finds his curiosity taking over after he is approached by an enigmatic beauty (Marceau) and implored to visit room 401 of the extravagant Hotel Riviera. Upon arriving at the hotel Lt. Renard discovers that Antoine Berangere (Robert Hossein), who has been the director of the establishment at the Riviera for nearly four decades, vanished forty-eight hours ago under suspicious circumstances. In his father's absence, Antoine's thirty-nine year old son Camille (Nicolas Briancon) has assumed control of the hotel. While Camille insists that the Hotel Riviera has no room 401, the suspicious actions of Antoine's wheelchair-bound second wife (Marie-Christine Barrault) leads Lt. Renard to suspect that foul play is afoot. Shortly after Lt. Renard discovers that Camille's famous mother Victoria (again Marceau) died precisely thirty-six years ago, a mangled body presumed to be that of Antoine Berangere turns up in the city morgue. While his loyal partner Pierre (Simon Abkarian) is convinced that this is an open and shut case, Lt. Renard himself discovers a series of well-concealed clues that lead him to believe that something far more sinister is afoot. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Sophie Marceau, (more)
- 2006
It's hard to say if the kids or the counselors need more supervision at the second-rate summer camp in this comedy from France. Vincent (Jean-Paul Rouve) runs "Ces Jours Heureux," a camp for kids in rural France, and as he gears up for the summer season, he has to round up a new staff of counselors to look after the campers. Vincent ends up with six eccentric twenty-somethings, including self-styled ladies' man Daniel (Lannick Gautry), Canadian party animal Truman (Guillaume Cyr), potty-mouthed lapsed Catholic Caroline (Josephine de Meaux), pretty but non-ambitious Lisa (Julie Fournier), handsome black guy Joseph (Omar Sy), and Nadine (Marilou Berry), who is made the camp medic by virtue of her status as a medical school drop-out. While the campers have to contend with bad weather, worse food and extended periods of boredom, the supposedly more mature counselors hardly fare much better, and occasionally face visits from the cops over the camp's various safety violations. Nos Jours Heureux (aka Those Happy Days) was written and directed by the team of Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, who previously scored a box office hit with Je Prefere Qu'on Reste Amis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Rouve, Marilou Berry, (more)
- 2005
Djamel Bensalah's comedy Once Upon a Time in the Oued stars David Saracino as Yacine, a young man attempting to get out of the marriage his parents have arranged for him. As he sets off for a summer with his family in Algeria, he and his best friend Johnny (Julien Courbey), meet a pair of women who the twosome flirt with. Johnny wants nothing more than to play football for the Algerian national team, and Yacine's younger brother must face a rather painful tradition. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julien Courbey, David Saracino, (more)
A talented woman struggles to get out from under the shadow of her father in this comedy. Lolita (Marilou Berry) is the 20-year-old daughter of Étienne Cassard (Jean-Pierre Bacri), a wealthy and well-known editor and writer, and most of the people she meets seem to be more interested in her dad than in her; her zaftig figure doesn't help her self-esteem much, either. Lolita is a gifted singer and has been studying with a voice coach, Sylvia (Agnès Jaoui); however, as it turns out, Sylvia has a husband, Pierre (Laurent Grévill), who is a novelist and hopes that Cassard might be willing to help him get his new book into print and onto bookstore shelves. The great writer seems to take a cavalier attitude toward nearly everyone around him, though, including his wife, Karine (Virginie Desarnauts). Lolita strikes up a friendship with a young man named Sebastien (Keine Bouhiza) which seems to be leading to romance, but when Lolita learns that Sebastien wants to become a writer, she finds herself wondering if he really wants her, or just an introduction to her dad. Jaoui, who plays Sylvia, also directed Comme une Image (aka Look at Me) and co-wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marilou Berry, Agnès Jaoui, (more)
