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Credits

Rated: R; Genres: Drama, Foreign Language; With: Judith Godreche, Patrice Leconte and Remi Waterhouse

Patrice Leconte's engaging comedy of manners about Louis XVI's court, where wit was king and ridicule could kill, transfers to video tres bien. Remi Waterhouse's script of Ridicule concerns a kind and — lucky for him — witty engineer (Chales Berling) who seeks royal funds to drain his village's malarial swamps. To win the king's favor, he must first win the French Open Mouth, an endless dissing contest in which ignoble nobles bandy wordplay and serve up ruthless jest. An off-court romance between Berling and a beautiful young scientist is sweetly satisfying, and Fanny Ardant's countess goes down like vintage Bordeaux. B+


Posted May 19, 2008
 

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