Monique (2002)

Alex (Albert Dupontel) and Claire (Marianne Denicourt) are living a boring and tedious life after years of marriage. They do not communicate to each other anymore, and Alex is almost speechless at home and without motivation and inspiration in his work as a former successful photographer. When Claire decides to leave him to live with her sculptor teacher, and Alex, completely wasted, accidentally orders an expensive and desirable sex molded doll called "Monique", his life changes completely. Alex falls in love with Monique, making all his fantasies come true, while his privacy is respected. His behavior affects the lives of his closest friends and Claire.This witty and original comedy plays with endured and routine relationships that are completely exhausted, without communication or sex life. Alex represents those men in middle-age crisis that keep their boring and tedious marriage without any further emotions or dialog, actually accommodated to the situation. Claire represents those women afraid to give a step ahead in life, balancing between a stable finished relationship and the fear for new feelings and experiences. Monique represents the new, the refreshment of a wasted life and the dream of most "Alexs". The director Valérie Guignabodet shows a great sensibility, approaching this delicate theme in a funny and neutral way, never being corny or accusing or defending who is right or who is wrong in this battle of sexes. One correction: The Worldcup of 1950 was in Brazil, director Valérie Guignabodet committed a serious research mistake. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Monique – Sempre Feliz" ("Monique – Always Happy")

I just saw the movie and I find it fantastic. It's all about having the guts to fulfill your passions, your fantasies, your ideals without paying attention to what others, society have to say about it. It proves that counts in love is not the reality, but ideas, desires and, most of all, faith! I mean, Alex certainly proves some kind of jealousy for Monique, a silicon doll. it also shows how much love is a personal construct and let people express their deep ideals. it's not about the perfect doll-woman; it is about Alex's desired Monique. don't go to see it if you are one of the 80% of American women thinking that their neighbors do nasty things and that only they, they aren't. and hold your moral, duty sense.

I've just seen the movie, and it was quite a nice surprise for me. although it contains a lot of Hollywood-style touches, there are plenty of original elements to offer a comforting change versus the usual American comedy. without going into spoilers, i can just say that one must be French to put that much sex in a movie without making it boring an without letting it be just about sex. actually, the movie presents a rather common theme - midlife crisis for men - placing it in a rather forced, yet comedy-creating context. I think one should be more into the French modern lifestyle to get all the hints, but it's quite enjoyable even without it. another thing i just have to state is that Marianne Denicourt is drop-dead gorgeous, and her acting is not bad either :-). the support cast does the job pretty nice, but every once in a while you can get that "TV production" feeling, mainly because of the settings. All in all, a movie that can improve someone's evening.

The author wrote for TV before but it is her first long-feature movie. Well it has a lot of what first movies have : good ideas, not so well used.Maybe the writer/director did not "live" enough to have an indeep feeling of those terrible matter, love and sex, male and female, human or puppet.Some parts are realy funny, some others lacks of something.Some situations can't work but no fictional gift is made to make us believe to them so... I'd say : watchable, could have been much better (or much worst too). I'd love to see a such subject writen by a 50 old woman for instance. The acting is not bad but the parts are not always well written.