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Lovely Tautou makes 'Priceless' airily charming

Rob Thomas  —  5/16/2008 5:15 am

Audrey Tautou could play a serial killer and we'd still find her to be an adorable, irresistible Euro-waif of a serial killer. In "Priceless," the French actress still best known for playing "Amelie" portrays a greedy social climber who preys on rich men, and she somehow makes cold-hearted avarice seem completely fetching.

Which is a good thing, because the audience knows that eventually Tautou's Irene will eventually tire of the Gucci shoes and Cartier necklaces and fall in old-fashioned love. Watching her get there, over the course of Pierre Salvadori's winning and sumptuous romantic comedy, is a lot of fun.

As "Priceless" opens, Irene is just starting to tire of her current meal ticket, who she is vacationing with at a spectacular resort on the French Riviera. In the hotel bar she spies the handsome, tuxedoed Jean (Gad Elmaleh) and thinks she's found her next mark.

Jean is a poor bartender, but he's so smitten with Irene that he goes along with the charade, letting her burn through his checking account, savings account and pension plan for the sake of a few nights with her. Once he's down to his last euro, Irene cuts him loose, and Jean ends up becoming the kept man of a wealthy widow to make ends meet.

Yes, on one level, Jean and Irene are basically prostitutes, but "Priceless" dances lightly over the more unsavory aspects of their circumstances, focusing on the comic exploits they use to keep their sugar daddy (and sugar mommy) happy while Jean tries to woo Irene.

Tautou is charming as always, and really finds her match in Elmaleh ("The Valet"), who plays her dogged suitor to comic perfection. Both actors have expressive faces that remind you of old silent-movie stars; one of the best scenes in the film is when Jean spends his last euro on a last, magical, wordless gaze with Irene.

There's not much substance to "Priceless," but what is there is effortlessly crafted and entertaining, and the locales in Nice and Monte Carlo are just spectacular. With the dollar as weak as ever against the euro, "Priceless" may be as close as any of us get to a summer vacation in France.

PRICELESS

Three stars

Stars: Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh

Rated: PG-13 for some sexuality, language

How long? 1:54

Where? Sundance

For fans of: "Amelie," "Breakfast at Tiffany's," vacationing on the French Riviera for no dollars a day.

Rob Thomas  —  5/16/2008 5:15 am