Au secours, j'ai 30 ans! (2004) User Reviews

A "feel good" movie composed mostly of meaningless series of events

[syncopation · 4/10 · 27 December 2006]

Three friends make a pact never to forget/leave the others. Then they move to Paris where the two women of the group, Tara and Kathy, promptly become unhappy. Meanwhile, Yann finds himself quite successful and happy with his boyfriend. Happy, that is, until he learns he has cancer.

The moving force? "Change your lives and be happy so I won't die". Unfortunately, it doesn't, cinema-wise, work. Changes of mood occur from scene to scene, certain development is completely unexplained. Scenes exist with no apparent purpose. Characters such as Yann's mother and brother don't serve any purpose in story development.

Perhaps, life does feel so disjointed - but that is certainly not the message of the movie. What is the message? Presumably: if you're unhappy, do something about it (or, as in Yann's case, have others do something about it).

The two good-looking characters end up together, while the less pretty woman is left ("happy") on her own. The ending was barely excusable for a Hollywood film, much less coming from French cinema! However, if you want to see a flaky movie that may make certain people feel warm and fuzzy at the end without having to think too much throughout, you could do worse.

Idiot husband with cat is super

[hakapes · 6/10 · 27 November 2005]

It took me a couple of months to finally decide to sit down and watch this movie, but it's a pity I didn't go for it before. I like French humor, and this was really a good piece of it! Although the original setting is sad - one of the main actors gets cancer -, but it is played in a funny way that only French do. It remembered me to the style of the Luis de Funes or the Belmondo series. Probably the character I liked the most was the idiot husband of Tara with the cat but I also loved the aging 'artist' starring the commercial. So I enjoyed most parts of the movie, funny dialogs and funny scenes, and the few minutes of trivial conversations are forgivable. I guess this movie is a best choice if you want to practice some recent everyday French language and want to keep your mood happy, like for people in a class of French as a foreign language.

:Light, yet touching romantic comedy about friendship

[karmabuona · 9/10 · 24 March 2005]

Three childhood friends, who moved to Paris as young adults, are now in their early 30s. Beautiful Kathy, who has a fear of involvement, has won herself a reputation as cold and hostile to men. Despite her attraction to Romain, she keeps pushing him away, terrified of getting hurt. Tara, living with an emotionally abusive man, turns to food for comfort. Yann is the only one of the three who seems to have a satisfying emotional life, deeply in love with his boyfriend Alfredo.

Then one day, Yann is diagnosed with cancer, forcing all three friends to reconsider their lives. Things start to change....

For some reason, this film has received a low rating on IMDb, which it in NO WAY deserves. It isn't a heart-rending work of genius but deserves to be judged within its own genre, as an occasionally touching, feel-good film about romance & friendship. It's well-acted and the storyline trots along nicely, keeping you entertained. Perhaps its weakest point is its occasional foray into sugaryness - but then it's a romantic comedy, and certainly isn't as sickly sweet as Amelie or your standard Hollywood fare. The friendship between the three leads is very well played.

Don't expect miracles but it's a more than enjoyable way to pass 90 minutes. I thoroughly recommend it.