“My son the doctor” remains a proud way to talk about family. How about, “My son who earns a good living being hired by fathers to romance their daughters to destroy a relationship with someone they consider wrong for her.”?
No? Well, “Heartbreaker,” the movie, a French comedy, is not so hot, either, the first clue being that three people have screenplay credits.
Romain Duris is Alex, the title character, with a shaggy haircut and a several-days growth of beard. But he, working with his sister and her husband, is a con man with today’s technology, using the internet, high-speed cameras and various other gadgets to delve into his target’s background. For example, his current quarry, Juliette (Vanessa Paradis), is a fan of the Patrick Swayze-Jennifer Grey movie, “Dirty Dancing,” so dance lessons become part of Alex’ preparation. But director Pascal Chaumeil, stranded somewhere between sex farce and gadget story, leaves us stranded, too.
Heartbreaker opens today at the Plaza Frontenac
—Joe