THE CHATEAU A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2002 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
In Jesse Peretz's THE CHATEAU, Graham and Allen Granville (Paul Rudd and Romany Malco) are gauche Americans who have gone to claim the French chateau that they have inherited from their great uncle. Before you get jealous, you need to hear more about their story. Their situation isn't quite as wonderful as it sounds.
Graham, a loquacious klutz, comes from the college town of Lawrence, Kansas. With nerdy black glasses and a shaggy mop of a haircut, he is so unsure of himself that he spends lots of time and money conversing on a payphone to his analyst back in the states.
In contrast to the lily white Graham, his brother Allen is, well, "a brother." An adopted African-American, Allen is the complete opposite of his brother in more than skin color. With his smartly shaved head and his well tailored clothes, he is disgusted by his brother's slovenly habits. Living in L.A., Allen's profession involves self-help tapes for males with penis problems, a job which he approaches with complete sincerity and which he believes will one day make him rich.
Once at their castle, which they plan on selling within a week, Graham and Allen find that it houses a staff which has no intentions of leaving. The story's running joke is Graham's bad French, which is a real problem given his proclivity for non-stop small talk. The staff keeps insulting him, to which he smiles and sweetly replies, "Merci!" The plot consists of the brothers trying to sell the property, while the staff attempts to thwart their efforts. The movie does have a few nice twists.
The movie's appearance, which looks like a third generation copy of a video tape, is one of its chief distractions. It frequently feels like a student film in which the actors were encouraged too often to just ad lib. The uneven movie does have its charms and its funny moments but not quite enough of them.
THE CHATEAU runs 1:31. The film is in English and in French with English subtitles. It is rated R for "strong language" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the Camera Cinemas.
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