I have a special fondness for French comedies. They tend not to take their stories too seriously. No great effort is made to create a dramatic plot. You’ve got a boy and a girl. They try to get together, but there are problems. This is what is funny. They work out the problems without too much angst. And they kiss. Curtain.

Last night, after spending hours and hours fuming over Washington politics, I brought in the new year with a delightful comedy: Romantics Anonymous, or Les Emotifs Anonymes. It tells the story of two social misfits, Angelique and Jean-Rene. She goes to a support group for what is translated as “emotional” people. Better would be “anxious” or “socially awkward” or just “shy.” Jean-Rene ought to go to this group, but he has a private therapist instead. Most of the comedy revolves around Jean-Rene’s repeated freak-outs in his attempts to woo the obviously eager Angelique.

There is much more to the film. It all revolves around chocolate manufacture, for example. But mostly, the two main characters are just so adorable, you can’t help but enjoy being in their presence for an hour and a half. I wish I had more to say, but it really comes down to this: it made me happy, and damn little does these days.

Here is the trailer, which gives a very good idea of the film:

Afterword

Netflix recommended the film to me based upon three other films. The first was Charade. I can see that to an extent. The second was the TV series Better Off Ted. That’s kind of a stretch, but I kind of see it. The third was Moon. I have no idea how that fits. I like all of these films a great deal of course. But the connections are tenuous.