Green Card

Usually, romantic comedies are all the same, concerning their tone and their dialogue. „Green Card` by the great director Peter Weir („Truman Show`, „Witness`!), is a little different, which alone makes it sympathetic.

The film evokes interest right at the beginning because if people don't know exactly what it is all about, they might not get immediately what's happening. Brontë is already married to Georges the French composer. Other directors or screenwriters would have shown their wedding in detail, peppered with gags. But Weir sees that this is not necessary, it would only follow the convention.

Later we have unexpected plot twists and changes in the characters that are not always convincing but give the film an interesting, not too light base tone. And actually, Peter Weir is a too enthusiastic director to make a visually rather undemanding romance film. So he introduces some wonderful visual ideas like the scene where Georges is standing in front of Brontë's door, covered with a blanket, calling her name, while the camera shoots him from inside, through the „watcher`. I'm not particularly fond of Andie MacDowell because she always seems even more nervous than my English teacher, always presenting herself with a pained smile. In „Green Card` of course, the fact that she is not at all likeable (to me at least) fits perfectly, and one little wonder of the movie is that Gérard Depardieu can convincingly play that he is falling in love with her.

A comedy surprise.

For those looking for an offbeat, uplifting romantic comedy, this one fits the bill. Andie McDowell plays Bronte; she is a young city gardener who has her eye on a beautiful apartment with a greenhouse. The problem is she must be married in order to apply for it. Enter Gerard Depardieu. He plays an immigrant Frenchman looking to marry an American so he will have permanent residency status in the United States. A mutual friend arranges a paper marriage between the two. Bronte gets her apartment; Depardieu has what he wants, also. Unfortunately, the INS suspects it is a bogus marriage and the two have to "temporarily" move in together in order to prove their marriage is real. From the start, Bronte and her immigrant husband dislike each other. Yet, strange things can happen. This is a sweet story with plenty of laughs sprinkled throughout. McDowell looks stunning and Depardieu, despite carrying a lot of extra weight, charms and delights. Nice little touches, such as the scenes where the couple take fake photographs of their honeymoon, are prevalent. Take a chance on Green Card; it's guaranteed to give the viewer permanent smiling status.

Green Card is a good movie. Worth watching. The first time I saw it I wasn't impressed, but then watching it again I found it realistic and refreshingly charming, in that "simple/against the tide" sort of way that is so Peter Weir. He's also done The Witness, Dead Poets Society, and The Truman Show; and Green Card, most certainly, is another of his films about people who don't quite fit in their environment or in the world of their aspirations but are drawn into finding life where probably they were not looking for. The scene about finding the bathroom is both hilarious and very suspenseful. It's funny how in a house, or even in a small apartment, we're never quite sure where the bathroom is. Our first instinct is to ask, even though it probably wouldn't be a difficult move to find that on our own. Now imagine having to deal with that bathroom situation (something you only care about when you need it) pretending that the place where you're in is your house. It's almost like in those nightmares where there are so many doors but which one is the one that will take you to that next level you so much need but have not the slightest idea of what it might really be? I guess the metaphor here is that you keep on opening a chain of wrong doors until you find the right one for you. It's frustrating, but the door was always there, always, with the exception that you never noticed it. Just like in everyday life, love and spirituality might flash into your face as banal sight at first, but they're made of hopes and fears that are always bigger than us, unexplainable, maybe fate. We don't have control of it (the Greeks knew it), we're still the same but again we're not. And here we are, groping, surviving. How do you relate to people and to your present circumstances -- whatever they might be --that is what Green Card is about.

Green Card is one of my favorite movies ever. Yes, everyone knows I'm a sucker for a good script, a beautiful girl, and a hunky guy, but this movie is so much more than that. It's a story of the American Dream, a testament to opposites attracting, and a thoughtful argument about law and order. It can spark a political debate, give even the most cynical spinster hope for love, and make an unsuspecting fan of the romantic comedy genre. Peter Weir's script-loosely based on 1989's The Paper Wedding, but oddly enough nominated for Best Original Screenplay by the Academy Awards-will make you laugh and reach for a Kleenex. He wrote it as an American debut for French superstar Gérard Depardieu, who at that time had a Best Actor César award and nine additional nominations, a Venice Film Festival award for Best Actor, and BAFTA nomination under his belt.

What a debut! He's so charming, so magnetic, so sensitive, it's impossible to dislike him. Weir's screenplay allowed for a mixture of French and English so Gérard could focus on his talent rather than a language barrier, and the result is pure magic. He plays a character similar to his real-life persona: someone incredibly generous and loving, trying to start a new chapter of his life in America, and far more sensitive than people suspect. So, when you're falling in love with his on-screen portrayal, it's safe to say you're also falling in love with him as a person. It's no wonder he's one of my favorite celebrity boyfriends.

On to the story, although with all that praise, you're probably anxious to rent a copy already, right? Andie MacDowell is a horticulturalist, and she wants to take up the lease of a beautiful apartment in New York with a neglected greenhouse. The apartment complex is only interested in renting to a married couple. Gérard Depardieu is a Frenchman looking to stay in America without applying for citizenship. Through a mutual friend, Andie and Gérard marry then part ways to pursue their own dreams. When immigration comes calling, they have to scramble around to pretend they're really married. Don't worry if you have a strong opposition to marriages of conveniences. As Andie's lawyer, Robert Prosky has a great line: "It's called breaking the law. Now, no matter how trivial it may have seemed to you at the time, that's what you've done." This is not a one-sided movie; it doesn't bombard you with a point of view it thinks you should have.

Every detail is important, ensuring that you'll get more out of the movie every time you watch it, which is one of the greatest signs of a good movie. In the kitchen, there's a brief close-up of Gérard fiddling with a garlic bulb. His fingers try to pry a clove out gently, nervously, and when his initial attempt doesn't work, he resorts to what he knows works for him and presses the heel of his hand forcefully against the bulb. One of the immigration agents, Ethan Phillips, asks an innocuous question, "May I use your bathroom?" because he knows it will make or break the interview. When Andie puts on her wedding ring before the interview, she struggles, to show she hasn't worn it in a long time.

From the get-go, Andie and Gérard have beautiful on-screen chemistry, even when their characters haven't figured it out yet. She's structured, he's spontaneous; she likes Muesli and decaffeinated coffee, he likes traditional French cooking; she's uptight, he's laid-back. When they pull together, the audience can see they bring out the best in each other, which is more than most opposites-attract romances do. When obstacles appear, whether small as in a flirty friend, Bebe Neuwirth, medium as in Andie's parents showing up at her apartment unexpectedly, or large as in the immigration issue, the script takes the audience through each hurdle smoothly, showing that this couple is so solidly matched, they can handle anything. They may have different reasons for doing what they're doing, but as Andie's dad, Conrad McLaren, summarizes, "We suddenly found ourselves in the same boat."

You've got to watch this movie. Whether it's because you love Andie MacDowell, you're anxious to hear Gérard speak English, or you're an awards groupie and want to see why it won Golden Globe awards for Best Picture and Best Actor in the comedic genres, you've got to watch it. Do yourself a favor and buy a DVD copy so you can watch it over and over again like I do. Every time I watch it, I'm instantly put in a better mood. It just doesn't get any better than Andie handing Gérard a hammer and saying, "Okay, do some handyman things!" It just doesn't get any better than Gérard saying more with one eyebrow raise than most actors say in an entire monologue. It just doesn't get any better than Green Card.

This movie is strangely addictive. Gérard Depardieu displays a very noble and charming character who is at the same time a simple and gruff man. He doesn't do the pretentiousness that is so common today. He is unsophisticated yet not uncomplicated. Andie MacDowell plays her part wonderfully. You just want to smack her silly at times, which proves that McDowell is a great actress. She is also one of Hollywood's "Classic" beauties. She is a pleasure to watch not only for her first rate acting but also because she is such a handsome woman.

My wife hooked me on this movie. I am a typical American man, who is usuually into action and SciFi movies. I usually run screaming from romantic movies. The fact that this is a Romantic COMEDY made it fun to watch. Depardieu plays the large "oafish" commoner to a "T". He is a very funny man indeed, as well as a first rate actor in his own right. He is not in enough movies, IMNSHO.

I wish the studio that owns this would release it on DVD in the US.