Mon coeur et ses millions: Millionaire Swap Shenanigans

Is this worth your time?

Honestly, if you like old, breezy comedies that don't try to reinvent the wheel, you'll probably have a decent time with Mon coeur et ses millions. It’s light, it’s a bit silly, and it moves along at a clip that feels refreshing compared to modern three-hour slogs.

If you need gritty realism or complex moral quandaries, steer clear. You’ll just be annoyed by the thin plot and the obvious contrivances. But for a rainy Tuesday? It’s fine.

Notes from the couch

The whole premise is basically a fairy tale for the rich. Everyone wants to believe that their money is the only thing standing between them and true love, right? It’s a bit of a cliché, but seeing the protagonist pretend to be his own secretary is actually kind of funny.

There is this one moment where Franck tries to act all modest and humble that is just painfully awkward. You can see the actor struggling to dial back the ego. It’s not great acting, but it’s definitely real.

The vibe is... old

The film has that specific 1940s French look where every room looks like a stage set. I kept waiting for someone to accidentally trip over a prop lamp. The lighting is super flat, too. Everything is bright and clear, like they wanted to make sure you didn't miss a single facial expression.

Speaking of expressions, Jules Berry is in this. Whenever he shows up, the movie gets a little spark. It’s like he knows he’s in a silly comedy and he’s decided to have as much fun as possible while everyone else is still trying to play it straight.

• The secretary disguise is barely a disguise at all.
• The dialogue is snappy, if a bit dated.
• Some of the background extras look like they’d rather be literally anywhere else.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Who Hit Me?, though maybe a little less chaotic. There’s a similar feeling of people running in and out of doors, making life harder for themselves than it needs to be. It’s not quite as weird as A hercegnö pongyolája, which I watched last month and still don't fully understand.

The pacing is a bit weird. It spends forever on a dinner scene that doesn't really change anything, then breezes through the resolution in like two minutes. I actually checked my watch during that dinner. It felt like they just left the camera rolling while everyone ate their pretend food.

Is it a masterpiece? No. But it’s not trying to be. It’s a movie that knows it’s a placeholder for an afternoon. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need. 🍿