Drawn to this movie by a trailer that seemed to indicate something funny might occur, I was disappointed to find this film weak, disjointed, patently illogical in many places and decidedly un-funny.The entire film seems to be centered on a disgruntled wife - why she is so we have no idea - and her "idiot" husband who is reduced in numerous cases to begging for sex only to have his wife deny him at the last moment. The film starts out promising only to nose dive into angst, rage, disappointment and confusion. If Paris was meant to be a character in this film, any lines it had were struck from the script 1/3 of the way into the film. The opening scenes seem to introduce Paris as not only the setting but a key member of the ensemble, after which it becomes an afterthought - the closing half of the film might have been set in Moscow for all the audience knows, except for only sparse allusions to itstill being Paris. Jeff Goldblum's character materializes out of nowhere and in a matter of seconds becomes an implausibly cult-like disciple of Jim Broadbent's character, at one point inanely screaming "I love you!" to the departing couple as they walk down a flight of stairs. It may have been my North American ears, but I have never watched a movie full of British actors where I have had such a hard time following what was said. Fully half of Lindsay Duncan's dialogue was incomprehensible to me. Don't watch this movie if you want to see Paris, have a laugh or pass an enjoyable night.

My wife and are seniors. We find most comedies meaningless because they are crafted for a 35-40 year old audience. But this is a film a senior can relate to and enjoy. A senior couple from Birmingham takes the Eurostar to Paris for the weekend to celebrate their anniversary. Like my wife and me, they are in love and dependent on each other. But they still argue, bicker and disagree. I'm not sure if it's a comedy, a drama, a senior skin flick or an adventure film. There's a little bit of each. But it goes in some original directions and takes some unique twists. If you are 20 years old, you will neither enjoy nor understand this film. If you're, say, past your 25th. wedding anniversary, you're sure to find situations in the story that you and your spouse have experienced in your own marriage. It's a bit different but interesting, informative and entertaining. My only criticism is the frequent and unnecessary use of the F-word, all the more unlikely since the husband here is a cultured academic.

We saw this on DVD, the extra is interesting as the writer and director (who also directed Notting Hill) had the idea for the story then went and spent a weekend in Paris to see what couples might do, to make the story seem more real. And that is a strong point of the movie, it seems very real.The couple are Lindsay Duncan as Meg and Jim Broadbent as Nick. They have been married for 30 years and it seems their relationship has gotten a bit stale. So maybe a romantic weekend in Paris will rejuvenate things. But not so fast, there are some things boiling under the surface with both of them, making it a quite challenging weekend.A pleasant surprise is Jeff Goldblum. I always enjoy his characters, he has a way about acting that takes a plain role and makes it more interesting than it has a right to be. Here he is Morgan, an old friend of Nick's from college. Morgan seems very well off, and very cheerful with his pretty, young, and pregnant second wife. He assumes Nick is equally well off. In fact when Nick and Meg went to Morgan's place in the evening by invitation, with a number of guests, mostly intellectuals, Morgan proceeds to explain how Nick was his influence as a young man, how knowing Nick and the things he stood for propelled Morgan to success in his career. But Nick gave a quite different talk, and put everything into perspective. Things weren't going well at all.At first it seems Nick and Meg are not age-matched very well but in fact the actors are almost the same age, he about 63 during filming and she about 62. They were celebrating 30 years. My wife and I enjoyed it, in fact it allowed us to reminisce about our own trips to Paris and other parts of Europe, dealing with the foreign languages, the strange hotels and strange menus. All the main actors are superb.SPOILERS: What Meg didn't know was Nick had been sacked from his job as a small college professor. Apparently he told a girl "If you would spend less time on your hair and more time on your studies..." and a complaint got him booted. What Nick didn't know is Meg was fed up with her teaching job and wanted to do something different, and it seemed that may mean leaving Nick completely. Which would have devastated him. But in the process they clearly realize how much they love each other, even though they found they could not pay their very high hotel bill when it was time to leave. Morgan to the rescue!!

I was interested in "Le Week-End" for a couple of reasons. I have enjoyed Jim Broadbent in many things. Also, I am nearing the age and have a lot in common with the characters--though after seeing the film, I am glad the similarity only goes so far. Unlike the couple in this one who have been married 30 years and now realize how little they actually like each other, after 28 years, I am still thrilled I married my wife and recently returned from a trip to Paris with her. Our trip went a lot better...thank goodness.The film begins with Nick (Jim Broadbent) and Meg (Lindsay Duncan) arriving in Paris. They're there to celebrate their 30th anniversary and so they've returned to this city for the first time since their honeymoon. While hopes are high, their trip doesn't go as planned and the hotel they stayed in the first time is now a dump. And, with so many plans going awry, they slowly begin to examine their lives and how they, too, are not exactly the way they hoped they'd be. What follows is a movie that shows the couples working through some ennui and coming up with a better understanding with each other.Overall, I liked the acting in the film very much. Broadbent and Duncan seemed quite good in these roles. Unfortunately, as far as the material goes, it was purely adequate--not bad but not especially memorable either. It left me wondering is this all there is...just like the couples did earlier in the film.