Review of 2 Days in Paris (2007) by Alice S — 17 Jul 2013

A tour de force reminiscent of Woody Allen's bittersweet love stories. Julie Delpy's triple threat debut is witty, funny, and poignant in its portrayal of a doomed romance. The blend of languages is seamless and depicts little-known aspects of American to French culture clash. I love the family's boisterous fight in the courtyard over Anna accidentally fattening up Marion's cat, then Jack peering down, asking if anything is wrong, and Marion saying bemusedly, "No. Why?" Marion's altercation with the racist cabbie is also ballsy and hilarious, with Delpy miming Hitler's mustache and the sign for asshole while braying, "Welcome to France," to Jack's prudish embarrassment.

In response to Flixster friend, Ryan Hibbett's critique of the film, I don't think Delpy is saying she hates France. She examines France's despicable qualities through an American lens, and vice versa, seeing as how she's almost an expat herself. The film pokes fun lovingly at idiosyncracies of both cultures (Jeannot's porny art and penchant for keying luxury cars vs. Jack's misanthropic treatment of his own countrymen for selfish reasons).

Also, Marion may have had a lot of ex-boyfriends, but she is not an immoral slut-bag. For one, she tearfully declines the affair with Mathieu, and for two, Delpy would reclaim that epithet in the name of feminism, this specific brand of which has roots in Simone de Beauvoir's "Manifesto of the 343 Sluts" (a no-shame pro-choice tract signed by 343 famous French feminists including Delpy's own mother, which Marie Pillet even mentions in the film). The aforementioned taxi altercation is so layered in this respect. It marks the boorishness of the French male but also the shamed pacifism of the "polite, intellectual" American male, Jack, who sits and does nothing to defend himself or his girlfriend while she expresses her ardent distaste for racism (an admirable quality) in an inebriated, vulgar, verbal castration (a less admirable quality for some, but a rousing show of feminism for her.).

Similar to the physical fracas in the cafe later, her morals behoove her to hate an ex who fucked little girls; her insatiable appetite for verbal castrations obviously behoove her to lose her temper. This little woman has a mouth on her, and she's not afraid to use it. She can be mean and annoying, but she owns it. She's not afraid to portray herself as the crazy French bitch.