Actually have no bias against fluffy romantic comedies, and certainly not those from the 30s so that is not the reason as to why 'I Met Him in Paris' didn't quite work for me. There were plenty of screwball and romantic comedies from the 30s and there are a good deal that are good and more. Have liked Claudette Colbert and Melvyn Douglas in other things and on paper their roles here sounded perfect for them. Haven't seen enough of Wesley Ruggles' work, but what has been seen has been uneven.
'I Met Him in Paris' has its moments, it's well made, has entertaining and charming moments and the cast do really well with the material in roles that suit them well. Somehow though it doesn't quite come together, and would have been much better with much more spark and a far more believable story because 'I Met Him in Paris' tended to lack especially the latter. Again, not a bad film. Just not a great one, which was disappointing considering the potential. If anything, it actually left me conflicted.
Will start with what is done well. Really liked the glossy look of the production values, especially the stylish photography and Colbert's truly beautiful clothes. The settings are also suitably exotic The music has playfulness without trying too hard to be quirky and sumptuous ones without being sugary. Ruggles fares competently in the direction at times, especially in the charming snowy scenes.
The script has moments of barbed wit and some nice sophistication, and there are charming scenes such as Colbert and Douglas on ice. The cast do really well and they spar together in an often blistering fashion, Colbert is adorable and amusing and Douglas is suitably suave and doesn't play his part too seriously. Robert Young does his best to bring charm to a not always pleasant and too good to be true part and does succeed.
Of the cast, only Lee Bowman underwhelms with a bland, underwritten character that he struggles to do much with. So it was not always easy to sympathise with him. The script definitely could have done with more consistent wit, and sharper wit at that, and tautness and also would have benefitted from not being too contrived, because some of it is rather forced.
Furthermore, too much of the story, based on a premise that was pretty silly anyway in the first place, is improbable with too many character motivations and decisions not making sense due to not being explored enough or introduced properly. It is particularly apparent in the final third and brings down 'I Met Him in Paris' a lot. It also takes too long to get going, the Paris portion doesn't really engage.
Altogether, found myself very conflicted on 'I Met Him in Paris. A generous 6/10
