Ugly Melanie (2008)

VILAINE is another funny film made in France. I have seen this film for the first time on a French cable TV. My wife was so excited after the end that she decided to buy quick the DVD.The script is simply and there are many funny scenes where I laughed a lot with my family. Marilou Berry was great in this role but the other actors delivered a good job too.This is a must see. I don't agree with the underrated votes on this site. It merits at least a solid 8 out 10.If you liked it I recommend you RIEN A DECLARER, BIENVENU CHEZ LES CHTI's, LA PREMIERE ETOILE or L'ENQUETE CORSE.

Melanie has a big problem. She came too late as beauty was being handed out. Because of her lateness, she has to struggle in order to make it through life because there are always those more fortunate friends who think nothing about making Melanie the butt of all their cruelty. When we meet her, she is working at a small bistro where her sleazy boss thinks she is a slave. Melanie and her undocumented Senegalese co-worker have to carry on with the business.To add insult to injury, there are a trio of Melanie's so-called friends that get a kick out of tormenting Melanie. Aurore, who acts as the leader of friends, is getting married soon. The others, Blandine and Jessica, go along for the fun of it. One day Melanie decides to put an end to the cruel jokes she has endured from the three bitches, and decide to get her own revenge, which is nothing more than asserting herself, proving to her so-called friends she put one over them. She will not be mocked anymore, not by these idiots, or her boss.In the meantime, Melanie is puzzled by a secret admirer who has been sending her beautiful flowers. However much she tries to find out about his identity, she gets nowhere. So, it comes to a complete surprise when she finds who her admirer is, almost losing him in the process. Melanie turns out to be the one who laughed last in this funny movie.The film boasts two directors: Jean-Patrick Benes, and Allan Mauduit, who also are the authors of the screenplay in which the film is based. In a way, the film kept reminding us of the American television sitcom, "Ugly Betty", which in turn is a remake of a Colombian original program "Betty, la fea", a big hit throughout Latin countries. But the comparisons end right there. The premise is basically the same, a non too well put together woman must suffer the jokes and injustices of being the butt of the more fortunate women, which is the case of Melanie.The creators of the film were lucky in getting Marilou Berry, who is the daughter of Josiane Balasko and Phillippe Berry and the niece of actor Richard Berry. The actress has an uncanny resemblance to her more famous mother, but she is the main reason for watching this French comedy; she steals the picture because in spite of her desire of avenging herself, she is not a mean person. Her Melanie just wants to be left alone to do with her life what she wants. Frederique Bel, Pierre Francois Martin-Laval, Josephine De Meaux, and Alice Pol, do great supporting work.

Okay, so in french class, the teacher made us watch this film called "La Vilaine". I had no expectations, and it was a comedy, so I brought those low expectations to an impossibly low level (not a fan of french humor). However, I was still disappointed, and here's why: The lead character is a cold, heartless, and overall mean-spirited bitch. Okay, so maybe she's been wronged in the past (in ways that are already too cruel to be realistic), but then she goes to the extreme, treating EVERYONE like a pile of crap. The only reason why you'd want to motivate her is because ALMOST everyone takes advantage of her, and so she only gets revenge on those who wronged her, right? Nope, she throws a kitten into the garbage can, barfs into he garbage can after eating too many chocolates (which were delivered by a boy who she slapped in the face, along with other forms of abuse which should get her arrested), tying her neighbor's dog to a bus because the neighbor made the lead character walk the dog every morning (so shouldn't the neighbor be getting punishment, not the helpless dog who doesn't understand what's going on?), and many other terrible things. The problem is that we're supposed to root for her, but the title makes it very apparent that SHE is the villain. Her behavior has no middle ground: she's either far too nice, or just way too evil. Besides, for the most part, most of what she does isn't even justifiable, so she loses any form of sympathy we might have had for her. This film is absolute trite, the bare minimum of what can be achieved with film. In other movies like Taxi Driver, the character's surroundings are harsh and unwelcoming, but the character is likable enough to pull us through the experience. This is just an amateur effort, truly an awful and despicable experience. I'm surprised by some of the user reviews (all two of them), because they actually say that this was an above average movie, but let me tell you, I only got a few chuckles out of this film, and only because of how horrible the lead character was.

Marilou Berry has inherited her mother's looks, build and acting talent though mum, of course, also writes and directs; maybe in time Marilou will try her hand at the other two disciplines but meantime she shows here that she can carry a movie alone. She plays Melanie, a girl working in a restaurant attached to a filling station, fine, dependable and generally all-round good egg until she decides enough is enough and allows her dark side to fight its way to the surface. We are, remember, talking comedy here so don't expect too great an about turn but one of the highlights is when Melanie handcuffs bride-to-be Fredericque Bel - about the only other person in the cast I've seen previously - already in her wedding dress, to a radiator. Actually I lied, that in itself is not a highlight, what IS is when Bel yanks the radiator off the wall and turns up in the church for the ceremony still wearing it. Pleasant, undemanding fare but Josie can be proud of her kid.