LOST IN PARIS review

2017

Directed By: Dominique Able, Fiona Gordon

Starring: Dominique Able, Fiona Gordon

Written By: Dominique Able

To say LOST IN PARIS is a throwback is an understatement. To say that LOST IN PARIS is a throw WAY back is probably a more accurate assessment. This is a film that shares more DNA with the silent comedies of the 1920's than modern films like ROUGH NIGHT, OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY, or FIST FIGHT.

Fiona (Gordon) lives a simple Canadian life that is disrupted by a letter of distress from her 88-year-old Aunt Martha (Emmanuelle Riva) who is living in Paris. Fiona hops on the first plane she can and arrives only to discover that Martha has disappeared. In a cavalcade of slapstick errors, she encounters Dom (Abel), the affable, but annoying tramp who just will not leave her alone.

Gordon gives a brilliant performance as Fiona. She has a Carol Burnet like quality unlike any other actor working today. Part Pepe Le Pew part Tramp Abel plays Dom with an alluring charm that could easily come across as creepy in the wrong hands. I am sure some viewers could find his unwillingness to take no for an answer as an affront to women, but I am certain that is not what the filmmakers had in mind. This film is not about sexual politics or modern romance.

We inhabit a post-Lenny Bruce era where vulgarity is the norm. The modern punk rock is not sticking your middle finger up at the man but politely asking if he is ok. Able and Gordon are delightfully different from most filmmakers. In that, they are more concerned with sweetness than cynicism. It is riskier to wear your heart on your sleeve than to say, "Love is dead." To Able and Gordon, love is very much alive and worth celebrating.

A scene early in the film takes place on a riverboat restaurant where our two leads meet. Taking elements of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, the two dance around the patrons and employees of the restaurant with a grace that is both charming and comedic. I cannot remember the last time a film made me smile as much as LOST IN PARIS, and that is no small praise.

LOST IN PARIS opens in theaters this Friday.

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