Baby Blues

It's probably best not to have high expectations going into this obviously low budget made for television production. Another reviewer made the comparison to British mysteries, which I think is fair and accurate. It simply is not as good as what you'd find from a Marple or Poirot adaptation, for example. It has good qualities, though. The story is relatively complex and inventive and nothing is given away too early, allowing the viewer to stay immersed throughout. On the other hand, there's some needlessly over the top and exaggerated character personalities that made me feel as though the story wasn't particularly credible. I suspect most will watch this for Audrey, as I did. She's a prominent figure in the story, but she's hardly the lead as would be implied. As I explore more of her work I'm gaining a greater appreciation for not only her skills but her career choices. Her turn as a young, borderline crazy, lonely woman is not only believable but familiar, since I think most of us have probably met this character at some point in our own lives. So I think it's a worthwhile watch for her fans, but if you're simply in the market for a foreign thriller/mystery this may not quite satisfy you. I'm going to round up from 3.5 stars.

Priceless

This is a fairly cute little lightweight romantic comedy, although certainly nothing I'd rave about. Really the single most notable reason to watch this is for Audrey. She's always been adorable, but here she's simply gorgeous. Really phenomenally gorgeous. Tremendously drop-dead gorgeous. She also happens to pull off a pretty impressive performance as it's not always easy to play money-grubbing and heartless while still being endearing. Gad Elmaleh does a really nice job too, but nothing too memorable. Frankly his character, a goofy, unsure, lovestruck nobody, has been done to death in French cinema. But there's nice interaction and chemistry so character cliches aside it's still quite enjoyable. I definitely recommend this to Audrey fans and to most French film fans, but don't expect anything heavy.