Mon Pire Cauchemar is a watchable French drama/comedy. I wouldn't say it's the best movie with Benoit Poelvoorde but it's okay to watch once. Benoit Poelvoorde plays one of his typical characters we are used to see, a bit vulgar, obnoxious, fast speaking. I guess it's his type of character. I thought he was funnier in other movies than this one but this movie is more a drama than a comedy anyway. Isabelle Huppert on the other hand is always a delight to watch. Not only for her acting but also for her natural beauty. Time seems to have no grip on her. Her eternal elegance is her trademark. I guess some people have it and others don't, she just has is. The movie itself is like I say watchable, a little bit predictable but no necessary boring. Good enough for me to kill a couple hours.

Some French comedies are my favorites and I own them on DVD ('the closet" comes to mind), usually I am not a big fan of comedies especially the ones Hollywood produces nowadays. Just the trailers keep me from watching them. I found this one in my library as there are not many foreign films available in the movie theaters in my neighborhood.This comedy juxtaposes an uptight highly cultured fine art gallery owner , Agathe, to a down-on-his-luck sleazy former bar owner, Patrick, who lives in his van and desperately tries to find a place to live in a good Paris neighborhood, so that his very intelligent son can continue to go to a good school . His son is best friend of the son of the gallery owner and her life partner Francois , a publicist. This is how the two world clash, because otherwise they would probably never meet.I enjoyed the movie on many levels. European movies are much more realistic in my opinion than Hollywood movies. They use older actresses and actually pair men an women of the same age group. I am so tired of watching grandfathers bedding young girls. And even if Europeans pair a grandfather with a younger woman, the guy admits that he is not really up to the task, like in this movie when Francois , tired of the ice queen Agathe, falls for the tree hugger Julie, who is the one helping Patrick to find an apartment. before social services takes his son away.I was very amused about the portrayal of the art scene which was very well observed and the car wash company Patrick's brother runs. It was not a comedy which made me laugh out loud, but a movie which kept me entertained and smiling the whole time. I am going to look for more movies from this director. The acting from both Isabelle Huppert,( who looks fantastic for a woman of nearly sixty) and Benoit Poelvoorde was spot on and never over the top . I also liked Andre Dussollier in his role as the suffering life partner ...

I liked this movie even though it is not a masterpiece. The acting is great, the story may be not exactly original but believable, even though I was a bit skeptical about it when I read this movie information. Also, you can't go wrong with Isabelle Huppert-she is agelessly beautiful. I liked the absence of female hysteria when it comes to male-female relationships, that dominates most Hollywood movies and TV shows these days. I love French movies and gave up on trying to find one worthy Hollywood movie- they are all the same-terrible performances , soap opera content. I don't find it amusing when males, as species, being degraded to disposable sperm donors. The other French film that i really liked-The big picture (2010)- Oscar worth performance by Romain Duris.

This adult French comedy can be extremely funny at times, but can also wander off into implausibility especially in the second half of the film.Isabelle Huppert, whom I would rate as one of the great actresses of our time, stars as Agathe Novic, a museum art gallery director. She can be quite brusque, imperious, and sarcastic. She's living with Francois, who's a publisher, portrayed by the veteran actor Andre Dussolier. They are the parents of Adrien (Donatien Suner) who is friends with Tony (Corentin Devroey).One day Tony's father comes to pick up his son at Agathe and Francois' apartment. That's when the fun really starts. Tony's father, Patrick Demeuleu, magnificently played by the Belgian actor Benoit Poelvoorde, is a lewd, crude, and vulgar construction worker but is also quite a likable guy. I recently saw Poelvoorde in the movie "Romantics Anonymous" where he played a completely divergent character, as an extremely shy owner of a chocolate factory. This contrast really illustrates his versatility.Francois takes a liking to Patrick and hires him to complete the re-modeling of his and Agathe's apartment. Sparks and hilarity fly as Agathe and Patrick play off each other.The film then veers off into various subplots such as Child Protective Services looking for Patrick and Tony, being concerned that he's not getting the proper care. Also, Francois fed up with Agathe's iciness takes up with a much younger woman (Virginie Efira) and leaves the apartment. To me, when the film went in these directions it often lost it's way.Certainly, the best scenes are between Agathe and Patrick. One night, after drinking way too much they end up in bed. From, there all kinds of surprising, and sometimes implausible plot twists occur. Huppert is such an amazing actress that you just never know what she's going to say or do next, which adds to the fun.All in all, I felt that when the movie worked it really worked and when it didn't it faltered. However, based on the wonderful performances by Huppert and Poolvoorde and the strong laughs I took out of it, I would rate it favorably.