HAPPINESS NEVER COMES ALONE (UN BONHEUR N’ARRIVE JAMAIS SEUL), French Movie Review by Joe Calleri.

What – HAPPINESS NEVER COMES ALONE (UN BONHEUR N’ARRIVE JAMAIS SEUL) (French Movie, as part of the 2013 French Film Festival).

Where – The Palace, Como, South Yarra.

When – Friday 15 February, 2013.

Reviewer - Joe Calleri.
Stars - 3.

Full Disclosure - I attended a preview of this movie as a media invitee.

Sacha Keller (the multi-talented, Gad Elmaleh) is one happy man. He lives the perfect playboy existence – by night he plays a mean piano in a crowded jazz bar, and beds an assortment of hot-looking young girls in a string of one-night stands. He doesn’t rise until after noon, and then only to write jingles for ads. He drives a nifty little coupe, is a talented magician, useless handyman, and absolutely hates children. He also has a doting mum, Fanfan Keller (Macha Meril) who cooks, cleans and shops for her boy, and he loves the movie, Casablanca. Perfect, right?

But, this film, delightfully titled, Happiness Never Comes Alone, provides a perfect example of the saying, God punishes those whom he loves. During an epic Parisian rain storm, Sacha, in one of the stand-out scenes of this film, literally bumps into uber yummy mummy, Charlotte Posche (the gloriously beautiful, Sophie Marceau, who shows a lot of flesh during this film), a very complicated woman who also loves Casablanca, but who boasts two separations and two fathers to her three young children. Yes, THREE CHILDREN.

When these two meet, sparks fly, the deluvial rain literally stops, and the sun comes out – yes, folks she’s the one. Cue some laugh-out-loud sex scenes where the two quite literally bounce off the walls. In fact, the funniest scenes from this film involve various painful looking pratfalls sustained by Seth and Charlotte, and selected other physical comedy skits, all nicely staged by director, James Huth.

But, the path of true love never runs straight, does it? It turns out that, one of Charlotte’s former husband’s, and father to Charlotte’s two sons, is the very wealthy, powerful, and very jealous, Alain Posche (a woefully under-utilised, and under-stated, Francois Berleand), whose company is one of Sacha’s employers. Safe to say, Alain is less than impressed when he discovers Sacha and Charlotte in a compromising position. Alain’s knee-jerk response to discovering the existence of his ex-wife’s new lover, is to first black-list Sacha from getting any paid work, and when that doesn’t work, to secretly finance a big-budget Broadway musical for Sacha and his dufus mate, Laurent (Lolo) Helwa (Maurice Barthelemy). Off to New York with you, Sacha!

Fret not viewers, the film does have a happy ending.

Happiness Never Comes Alone, then, is a charming, unpretentious, featherweight, feel-good, generally entertaining, if a little long-winded film, that works best when director Huth highlights and exploits the considerable comedic and physical talents of Elmaleh and Marceau.