Un bouquet de flirts: A messy little French farce

Is it worth your time?

If you have a thing for black-and-white French romps from the early days, you might get a kick out of this. If you need a coherent plot or characters who actually act like real people, skip it. It is strictly for the completionists of old cinema who like a bit of chaos.

The whole thing feels like a stage play that got lost on its way to a theater. Everyone is constantly shouting or looking surprised in the doorway.

The vibe

There’s this one scene where the guys all show up at the same time and the lead girl just sort of vibrates with panic. It’s honestly kind of relatable, though the staging is stiff as a board. You can practically see the marks on the floor where they were told to stand.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic pacing in Knockout Buster, just with more suits and fewer boxing gloves. Not that it matters much.

Odd observations

• The lighting is incredibly harsh, making everyone look like they’ve been living in a cave.
• The hats in this movie are truly out of control.
• One of the suitors spends about three minutes just staring at a wall while he waits for his cue. It was distracting.

It’s not trying to be Robinson Crusoe in terms of depth, obviously. It’s just fluff. Pure, 1930s-style, slightly headache-inducing fluff.

The ending is a total cop-out, too. I won't spoil it, but let's just say the resolution involves a lot of shrugging and then the credits roll. It’s almost impressive how little the film cares about its own setup by the time it reaches the finale.

Honestly? I’ve seen worse. It’s a breezy enough way to kill forty minutes if you’re bored on a Tuesday, but don't go in expecting a masterclass in romance. It’s just people being silly, and sometimes, that’s all you get. 🎩✨