Jet Lag (2002)

Veteran screenwriter Danièle Thompson re-teams with her son Christopher Thompson (following their first collaboration, La Bûche) for the talky romantic comedy Décalage Horaire. The elder Thompson crafts excellent dialogue for this character-driven trifle, with the two leading superstars sharing quirky moments together and making genuine comedy. Juliette Binoche makes a thoughtful glamour queen out of Rose, whose persistent makeup routine seems to double as a self-styled therapy session. The scruffy, baggy-eyed Jean Reno makes an uptight but ultimately sincere romantic lead in the gourmet chef Felix. Somehow their combined screen presence and intimate conversation makes up for the implausible meeting. Major Spanish film star Sergi Lopez also shows up in a cameo just to throw an abusive fit, but he leaves little impression. The unlikely friendship plot is cleverly if unbelievably conceived during the first half, but the inevitable romantic conclusion is way more happy than it needs to be. The strange placement of the much-used and melancholy Midnight Cowboy theme seems out of place as featured at the most frothy final act. For the most part, Décalage Horaire is harmless enough as a light, feel-good romantic comedy and nothing more. Stick around during the credits for an English-language recipe for Felix's veal mignonettes. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide