{"id":106993,"date":"2023-12-21T10:26:27","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T18:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=106993"},"modified":"2023-12-21T10:26:27","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T18:26:27","slug":"pick-asr-film-the-crime-is-mine-french-screwball-satire-carves-up-justice-feminism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/pick-asr-film-the-crime-is-mine-french-screwball-satire-carves-up-justice-feminism\/","title":{"rendered":"Pick! ASR Film ~~ ‘The Crime Is Mine’ \u2014 French Screwball Satire Carves Up Justice, Feminism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Woody Weingarten<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Screwball comedies satirizing<\/strong> traditional love stories peaked in the early 1940s \u2014 after having begun to gain popularity during the Great Depression.<\/p>\n

New examples of that romantic comedy sub-genre would manage to pop up every few years thereafter, but they\u2019d usually fail to be as funny or polished as those of yesteryear.<\/p>\n

But now comes The Crime Is Mine<\/em>, a French-language satire (with subtitles, of course) that stands up with the best of them. The one-hour, 42-minute film time-warps back to 1930s Paris and provides a Duisenberg-speed storyline that repeatedly twists and turns as it focuses on a sexy, penniless actress who figures she can become famous by confessing to a murder she didn\u2019t commit.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u2026 \u201cThe Crime Is Mine\u201d<\/em> ain\u2019t subtle, but delightfully tasty it is \u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Scheduled for release on Christmas Day by Music Box Films, the flick lays onto the marvelous comedy, an equally marvelous carving up of feminism, the class system, show biz antics, and courtroom machinations.<\/p>\n

In the final analysis, though, within weeks after watching the movie, you\u2019re likely not only to have forgotten slices of the plotline but exactly who is who, especially when it comes to lesser characters such as the judge, the prosecutor, the police inspector, and a boyfriend (even though all are amusing) and exactly what who said to whom.<\/p>\n

Nadia Tereskiewicz merrily plays blonde bombshell Madeleine Verdier, a talent-less wannabe who desperately craves stardom and her close-up. She\u2019s aided in her quest for fame by her brunette BFF and starving garret roomie, Pauline Maul\u00e9on (played by Rebecca Marder), a young lawyer with no other clients who launches a campaign based on the notion of self-defense against sexual assault.<\/p>\n

Supporting their skillful acting chops is Isabelle Huppert, a French icon who, while chomping on the scenery, portrays silent film star Odette Chaumette, the real killer turned blackmailer.<\/p>\n

All the main characters, each of whom is self-serving, mug a lot (except the murdered producer) \u2014 and every now and then, Madeleine\u2019s combined flightiness and earthiness may remind a filmgoer of Renee Zellweger playing Roxie Hart in Chicago<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u2026 Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 100% rating<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fran\u00e7ois Ozon\u2019s direction of this adaptation of a 1934 stage play is almost as perfect. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 100% rating with 22 credits so far.<\/p>\n

With humor ranging from dry to frivolously farce-like, it\u2019s virtually impossible not to like the film\u2014whether or not you can relate to kooky but intelligent women who easily outmaneuver the men in their lives.<\/p>\n

The Crime Is Mine<\/em> ain\u2019t subtle, but delightfully tasty it is \u2014 a cinematic souffl\u00e9 that never falls.<\/p>\n

-30-<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>ASR Senior Contributor<\/strong>\u00a0Woody Weingarten has decades of experience writing arts and entertainment reviews and features. A member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, he is the author of three books, The Roving I; Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates; and Rollercoaster: How a Man Can Survive His Partner\u2019s Breast Cancer. Contact: voodee@sbcglobal.net or https:\/\/woodyweingarten.com or http:\/\/www.vitalitypress.com\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Production<\/td>\nThe Crime is Mine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Directed by<\/td>\nFran\u00e7ois Ozon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Run Dates<\/td>\nOpens December 25, 2023<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Venues<\/td>\nTBA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Reviewer Score<\/td>\nMax in each category is 5\/\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Overall<\/td>\n4.25\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Performance<\/td>\n4.25\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Script<\/td>\n4\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pick?<\/td>\nYES!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This story was first published on<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/aisleseatreview.com<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, which publishes independent views and reviews on Bay Area arts, destinations, and lifestyle.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Woody Weingarten, a longtime member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle, can be contacted by email at\u00a0voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a>\u00a0or on his websites,\u00a0https:\/\/woodyweingarten.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0https:\/\/vitalitypress.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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By Woody Weingarten Screwball comedies satirizing traditional love stories peaked in the early 1940s \u2014 after having begun to gain popularity during the Great Depression. New examples of that romantic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":4.3,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-106993","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"