Popular, between My Fair Lady, Mad Men and Rocky [critique]

The romantic comedy with Déborah François and Romain Duris returns to France 4 and in replay on France.TV.

Spring 1958. Rose Pamphyle, 21, lives with her father, a gruff widower who runs the bazaar in a small Normandy village. She is to marry the son of the mechanic and is promised the destiny of a docile and diligent housewife. But Rose doesn't want this life. She leaves for Lisieux where Louis Echard, 36, charismatic boss of an insurance firm, is looking for a secretary. The job interview is a fiasco. But Rose has a gift: she types on a typewriter at dizzying speed. The young woman despite herself awakens the ambitious sportsman sleeping in Louis… If she wants the job, she will have to take part in typing speed competitions. Regardless of the sacrifices she will have to make to get to the top, he acts as coach and decrees that he will make her the fastest girl in the country, even in the world! And the love of sport does not necessarily go well with love itself.

Popularof Régis Roinsardwill return this Saturday evening on television. If his mix of genres had made us think of My Fair Lady And Rocky upon its release in 2012, its creators rather evoked a very successful series as a reference:

“The way in which Mad Men revisiting the era in terms of styling has indeed been a great source of inspiration, Alain Attal confided to us about this story carried by Romain Duris, Deborah François And Bérénice Bejo. But there reigns in this series, which I love, a cynicism very far from Régis' vision, which leans towards melodrama and romance. What we want is to tell a fucking love story!”

First recommend this romantic comedy. Here is our review:

My Fair Lady encounter Rocky. This is the audacious concept imagined by neophyte Régis Roinsard, who films this romcom like an increasingly intense boxing match. Footwork (warm-up/plot setting), dodges (the two heroes circle each other), uppercuts (violent machine strikes and obnoxious thoughts from Louis, who is also a sports fan), knock-down (Rose staggers but does not break)…

The precise scenario stands out in a country that often treats gender over the typewriter. Roinsard is a true lover of the screwball comedies of Hollywood's golden age, as evidenced by his obsessive reconstruction of the 1950s and the subtle play of the actors, between histrionics and modernity. The attention paid to supporting roles is another reason for satisfaction. Roinsard brings them to life in a few scenes, Bérénice Bejo landing one of the most beautiful when she explains to Louis (Romain Duris) that he cannot miss out on love a second time. Modeled on Professor Higgins of My Fair Lady (the mentor who lets his creature escape out of pride), this character is very successful, just like that of Rose, stubborn and romantic. Déborah François brings her disarming freshness and a power of seduction without artifice. The film owes him a lot.

Popular: the destiny of a comedy like no other