Charly Fleury has, to use his expression, “made good studies”. Director of a major fashion magazine, she no longer has much contact with her widowed father, a butcher who continues to dream that his daughter will one day take over the family business. Which happens, to Charly’s chagrin, after she’s been laid off. To spice up the sauce, Martial, the father’s protege, fell in love with Charly, and vice versa. However, for these two, nothing is simple. In fact, the romantic comedy Tender and rare multiplies the complications for these upset lovers. Alas, the scenario is not very to the point, even “to the point”, to remain in a lexical field of circumstances.
Geraldine Pailhas (IP5: the island ofpachyderms, Everything went well) offers a credible and discreetly tasty performance in the main role. His Charly has real depth, revealing contradictions… Too bad the story imagined by his spouse, the director and co-screenwriter Christopher Thompson (Orchestra seats), leaves it stranded at every turn.
Indeed, the film has the curious mania of setting up promising situations and conflicts, such as the relationship between Charly and his father, or the amusing misunderstanding by which the first and Martial (Arnaud Ducret) initially meet, to quickly deprive yourself of it by going in another direction, systematically less interesting.
Helping means, everything is rather nicely presented, but the showcase does not make the product.
Pamphlets and cartoons
Dedicated to the incredible professional success of the “new version” Fleury butcher’s shop, the mid-term sometimes resembles a carnivorous plea, with an ode to small producers and ethical trade (conversely, the section devoted to the fashion is treated from the angle of easy caricature). It’s fair game, but, from then on, the narrative yields to the pamphleteer, and the plot, which was already struggling to captivate, loses its last feathers.
The third act, the weakest, consists of a final, and tiresome, succession of sentimental difficulties aimed at keeping the protagonists apart until the inevitable outcome. This includes Martial’s sudden and unbelievable transformation into a vindictive but seemingly still irresistible bastard come time for the final reunion. Not only do we no longer believe in it, but at this point, we just can’t wait for it to end.