Mon Meilleur Ami (My Best Friend) Movie Review

Director Patrice Leconte's Mon Meilleur Ami (My Best Friend) tells a simple, often predictable, tale of a man trying to find friendship or, more specifically, a man trying to find a friend - any friend. The result is a sometimes light, sometimes moving and sometimes insightful comedy-drama.

François Coste (Daniel Auteuil) is a middle-aged antique dealer and divorcee who sincerely believes that his successful, well organized life has made him admired and liked by his family, acquaintances, and business associates. He does not realize that in reality he has become so self-absorbed and distanced from the world around him that he knows nothing personal about his long-time business partner Caroline (Julie Gaynet); that his college-aged daughter Louise (Julie Durand) feels neglected by him; and that most of the other people who he comes into contact with only tolerate him. Then he is confronted with the truth. During a dinner party, Caroline, upset over François impulsively buying an expensive ancient Greek vase that they cannot afford, tells him that he is unlikable and has no friends. Several others present second her comments and when Francois protests she offers a bet. He has ten days to present one person who can state that he is one of the art dealer's best friends. If he cannot do so, then she gets full possession of the vase. Thus starts an increasingly desperate race to find a friend. Francois buys books dealing with friendships, attends Dale Carnegie-style seminars, and talks to strangers on the street. He searches the Internet. He locates his "best friend" from junior high and "accidentally" runs into him at a grocery store where he is told that his "friend" had actually considered the art dealer to be a pompous bully and by all present indications he still is one.

During this futile process he meets Paris taxi driver Bruno Bouley (Dany Boon), a pleasant, outgoing, trivia-spouting chap who seems to have a knack for making complete strangers feel at home. Intrigued, Francois eventually asks Bruno to tutor him in the art of friendship beginning with, as Bruno informs him, the three S's - be sociable, smiling, and sincere. Their relationship appears to grow but it is actually one-sided as the self-centered Francois is unable to see that Bruno is a lonely individual also without friends. In an outrageous move, Francois, taking advantage of Bruno's apparent trust in him, involves the cab driver in a plan that he hopes will prove to Catherine and the others that Bruno is a true friend. When the plan backfires, it leaves Bruno, who did not realize the real purpose of the plan, feeling angry, humiliated and hurt. Furthermore, it destroys the naïve Bruno's trust in Francois and leaves Catherine, Louise, and others disgusted at his behavior. Finally realizing that he has been a fool, Francois begins a period of introspection and hoping to redeem himself, if only in his own eyes, he secretly arranges for Bruno to appear on the French version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. As a result, Francois, in a contrived but still enjoyable, denouement is fully redeemed.

One could nit-pick at this movie in many ways. As mentioned before, it is predictable almost from the start. There are several lightly humorous scenes, which could have been side-splitting funny with a different approach. The Millionaire segment probably could have been shortened by a few minutes. From their first meeting, there seems to be a natural attraction and affection between Bruno and Louise which could have been developed but wasn't. The final scene is weak and appears to almost be a last minute add-on.

But there are important reasons for liking this movie. The two lead actors, Daniel Auteuil and Dany Boon, are excellent. Despite Francois' basic nastiness, enormous self-ego, and materialistic view of life, Auteuil is able to imbue his character with a certain sadness and even fear that his critics are right about him. Bruno could easily have come across as an obnoxious, boring know-it-all. Instead, Boon, through words and expressions, convincingly brings out that under the cabbie's easy-going façade there lies a fragile and vulnerable human being. The bottom line is that we feel empathy for both characters. We want them to succeed. And, then there is the overlying theme of the movie - what constitutes real friendship? In society today where a "what can you do for me?" attitude seems too often to prevail, the movie is suggesting that maybe individuals should evaluate and question their own view of relationships. Maybe in doing so, they may discover that "what can I do for you?" is the answer. A careful viewer can leave Mon Meilleur Ami feeling warm while at the same time unsettled.