When two actors kiss on screen, is it real? Is the passion palpable or just creatively staged? That's a question that Yvan is faced with in the new French film "My Wife Is An Actress." A television sports reporter in Paris, Yvan (plyed by director and screenwriter Yvan Attal) is married to one of France's biggest movie stars, Charlotte (Charlotte Gainsbourg).
Although the couple is madly in love, Yvan has always been annoyed by fans interrupting meals at restaurants and stopping them on the street begging autographs. But it gets worse when Yvan begins to be overcome by jealousy and suspicion that Charlotte isn't just faking her love scenes.
His misgivings aren't helped by the fact that people seem to approach him regularly and ask him if he's suspicious or tell him that seeing his wife in her latest film gave them an erection!
When Charlotte heads over to London to co-star in a film with some steamy scenes with adored British star John (Terence Stamp), Yvan and Charlotte's relationship is especially strained and appears doomed.
So, John tries to understand his wife's career by signing up for acting lessons. There he becomes the focus of the affection of an attractive young woman. Meanwhile, Charlotte is in London wondering if she's falling for John.
Beautifully photographed by Remy Chevrin, with shots that capture the beauty, the vibrancy and the bustle of Paris, "My Wife Is An Actress" is also extremely funny, with some great scenes like the one in which Yvan makes a visit to the set of Charlotte's movie and finds not only his wife and John naked in bed shooting a scene, but also an entire crew sans clothes in an attempt to make Charlotte more comfortable.
{INSERT_RELATED}A subplot involving Yvon's pregnant sister and her husband and their conflict over whether or not to circumsize their son offers fleshing out of Yvon's family, but in the end is little more than a diversion.
Stamp, a living legend of British cinema, is perfectly dislikable as the artsy veteran actor on the sexual prowl, his crosshairs trained directly on Charlotte. When he announces that he rises every morning to do tai chi in Green Park, we join Yvon in wanting to sock him in the snoot.
If Attal is manic and at wit's end, Gainsbourg is conflicted, confused and melancholic, adding a deeper dimension to what otherwise would be little more than a screwball comedy.
"My Wife Is An Actress" is screened at 8 p.m., Sat., Feb. 15 at UWM's Union Theatre as part of its annual French Film Festival. The festival runs February 14-16 and 21-23. Other films featured are "Alias Betty," Little Brothers," "Code Unknown," Girls Can't Swim" and "Murderous Maids." For more information, call (414) 229-4070.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
