Cast: Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis, Andrew Lincoln

Director: Pascal Chaumeil

Scriptwriters: Laurent Zeitoun, Jeremy Doner, Yoann Gromb

Apart from being married to one of the most famous actors on the planet (Johnny Depp, of course), since her teen hit Joe le Taxi back in the 80s, Vanessa Paradis has taken somewhat of a backseat in the fame game, well here in the UK at least – in her homeland the French femme is still hugely popular. Heartbreaker, therefore, has an added pinch of intrigue thrown into the mix before you even take your seats – will the actress be able to pull off comedy? Or will she just be the beautiful object of affection? Thankfully yes, Paradis, who stars as the impossibly glamorous Juliette, does pull it off and with bags of style to boot.

Pascal Chaumeil’s Heartbreaker tells the tale of the suave Alex (Duris), who, together with his sidekicks – sister Melanie (Julie Ferrier) and her husband Marc (Francois Damiens) – makes his living by breaking up relationships. For a fee, which is paid by an unapproving parent, sibling or friend, the dashing lothario woos his target by transforming himself into their perfect man and therefore opening the woman’s eyes to how unsuitable her current beau is.

As you might predict, Alex finally meets his match when he encounters Juliette. The young free-spirited heiress, who has a passion for George Michael and word-perfect knowledge of Dirty Dancing, is due to marry the man of her dreams Jonathan, played by the suitably stiff Andrew Lincoln. Only problem is that daddy dearest doesn’t approve and therefore drafts in Alex to work his magic, which, as it turns out, is not so easy this time.

Of course the story is predictable and, in this case, that is absolutely fine as there is enough going on in this film which makes it genuinely entertaining, including some real laugh-out-loud moments. It’s a feel good movie with some clever little scenes, smart wise cracks and characters you actually care about.

As you will have guessed, Alex tries every trick in the book to hook Juliette but as time goes on he begins to fall head over heels in love with her. The charmer starts to get close to her and the pair end up spending the perfect evening together the night before her wedding. At one point the duo perform the dance routine from Dirty Dancing’s (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life, which he has painstakingly learnt over the previous 10 days, which is extremely funny and actually rather sweet. In the end Alex has to own up to his deception and Juliette ends up walking down the aisle with Jonathan, but fear not romance fans, it all comes good in the end.

While the story line may not be that original, why would you expect it to be? It is a good old-fashioned love story, albeit with a twist. The script is clever and the characters really quite interesting. Perhaps there could have been more of Alex’s sister and brother-in-law as the pair steal the show when they are on screen but that aside, there are no complaints to be had.

This is a perfect date movie. Sweet, without being sickly, plenty of eye candy in the form of the delectable Duris and perfect Paradis and, of course, the wonderful French language all adds to the ambience. Best of all its funny, a date movie that the more cynical among us will like too, Sound-Screen’s seduced.

By Louise Meeson

Heartbreaker is released on 2 July courtesy of Revolver Entertainment.