Pierre Salvadori, who made
The Apprentices (1995) and Wild Target (1993), returned for his third feature with this quirky comedy filmed in Paris and Corsica. After an argument with her fiancé, Jeanne (
Marie Trintignant) flies to Paris, talks her way into someone else's chauffeured limo, sleeps with a guy she picks up, is hired to deliver pizzas, works as a tea-salon waitress, creates lies about her wealthy family, and goes home with elderly Madeleine (Blanchette Brunoy), who accepts her as an au pair. Clean-cut crook Antoine (
Guillaume Depardieu) takes both women to dinner, while burglar Barnaby (Serge Riaboukine) robs Madeleine's house. Madeleine mentions Jeanne's rich parents, prompting Antoine to join with Marcel (Jean-Francois Stevenin) in a scheme to collect a ransom on Jeanne. But the plan begins to collapse when Jeanne and Antoine find they are attracted to each other. The original French title is part of the French phrase "elle ment comme elle respire" ("lying comes to her as naturally as breathing"). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide