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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :- Romcom sofa spuds will enjoy this couch!, 6 July 2006 Author: Amy Adler from Toledo, Ohio
Beatrice (Juliette Binoche) is a free-spirited Parisian woman with plenty of male admirers. The trouble is, she hasn't really returned anyone's affections. When she feels pressured, she decides to swap apartments with a New Yorker for awhile. Henry (William Hurt) is a shrink who also is a bit tired of putting people's lives in order and he believes a trip to Paris will do him good. However, Beatrice is mistaken for a doctor temporarily replacing Henry and is beset with several patients. She listens, she has fun! And, patients hand her the green stuff. Meanwhile, Henry is less than thrilled with Beatrice's noisy apartment and decides to come back to the NY area early. Ah ha! He finds out in short order that Beatrice has been seeing his patients and he decides to pose as one. Let the games begin.This very French film, told mostly in English, has a sweet charm and a wonderful premise. Binoche graces the film with her loveliness and talent and Hurt gives a likable performance as well. Yes, it is understated and the dialogue seems truncated at times, but the movie has a European flavor that will please those who like it quirky. All other elements, costumes, scenery, and cinematography, are nice, too. If you belong to the group of film enthusiasts which needs a dose of laughs and love every week, find this film in the near future. It is a great movie to watch from a comfortable couch, with or without, a partner.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :- Juliette Bincoche is a delight, 14 November 2004 Author: vchimpanzee from North Carolina
Dr. Henry Harriston, a psychoanalyst, is so sick of his patients he puts an ad in the Herald-Tribune asking to swap his New York apartment for one in Paris. Beatrice, who answers the ad because her friend Anne lives in New York, seems to get the better part of the deal. Dr. Harriston has a fabulous apartment and Beatrice's building is noisy and falling apart. Then Dr. Harriston's patients start showing up at his place. Also, Dr. Harriston's dog Edgard is lethargic and has intestinal problems. Meanwhile, Beatrice has a number of men after her, mostly borderline insane.Juliette Binoche is pretty and so charming, and she really shows genuine concern for Dr. Harriston's patients--one in particular. Richard Jenkins does something unique and unexpected as one of the patients. And William Hurt eventually does show his talent as well. Most of the leading actors gave good performances.The first half was quite funny, but the second half leaned more toward drama. Though there were funny moments, such as when Dr. Harriston tried to carry on a conversation with his friend Dennis while Dennis was taking an order at a restaurant.The ending was very sweet. Overall, this film was worth seeing.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :- Beatutiful, artistic, sparkling and unique, 11 September 2004 Author: reginse from Oslo
I don't understand why this movie isn't more popular. William Hurt plays wonderfully sensitive and sincere. Juliette Binoche is charming and natural. The story is like a book. And the filmmakers and photographers have caught the moments just right. The lines and words are not pathetic: they are intelligent and honest.I love this film. I have seen it several times and Cole Porters "Night and day" suits the film and actors really well. I give this film top score for seeing the special art and beauty of living. Few movies catches the small deatils like this one: In colours, quite comfortable moments, moods, real life-pictures and honest life-image. Thank you very much, filmmakers, actors, storytellers, composers and photographers for reminding us how beautiful life can be.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :- Charming fantasy, 22 June 2002 Author: mmduffy from New York, NY USA
In spite of its thin premise about the unexpected effects of an apartment exchange this is a movie of gentle and charming fantasy as the two characters find themselves becoming entangled in each other's lives. Although the plot is predictable from that point on, the execution of it is funny and some of the observations about people are pointedly accurate. Add to that a good use of the New York cityscape and this is a great movie to spend a rainy afternoon (or evening) with.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :- A classic 50's romantic comedy updated for the 90's, 6 October 1998 Author: anonymous
A Couch in New York is a French/American/Belgium co-production with the innocence and humour of the romantic comedies of the 50's. Juliet Binoche shows the charm of a modern day Audrey Hepburn (with the same beautiful vulnerability portrayed by Hepburn in Funny Face and Breakfast at Tiffany's) while William Hurt plays the strong man role that used to be reserved for the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Fred Astaire or Gregory Peck. Using old tricks of mistaken identity and falling in love with a stranger, the dialogue is somehow saved from sounding corny and instead pays homage to the classic romantic comedies. A two tissue movie.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :- A charming romantic comedy., 24 January 1999 Author: cranmer from La Mesa, California
The basic tension of opposites attract is carried out in an exquisitely delicate manner. A New York psychiatrist exchanges apartments with a woman in Paris. He is orderly tidy controlled. She is - well opposite. He moves into her disheveled apartment complete with bad plumbing, a roof in disrepair and the importunities of her crazed lover. She moves into his and is beset by his patients demanding to be treated. She obliges and with the help of her friend (who has had analysis) learns to say "uh huh" and repeat the last word of the patient's sentences. They get better. His dog is happier. A nice point is he is shown as competent as her lover starts to feel better when talking to him. This is the last straw that drives him back to New York.He can't go back to his apartment, but stops by, sees his patients coming out looking better. Fascinated, he makes an appointment. The relationship unfolds.The cool thing about this movie is it is not forced like so many modern comedies.You realize how strident such recent comedies such as "One Fine Day" and "Fools Rush In" are in comparison.So wonderfully delicate.
2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- Wow!, 20 February 2005 Author: scheftj-1 from United States
This film seems to be a litmus test of some kind. The majority of viewers, both prof. critics and laypeople, don't like. But a sizable minority, like me, are ga-ga over it. I find it funnier and more intelligent each time I watch it. I liked it the first, but it has gotten better each of the four times I have watched it since. Juliette Binoche is an absolute revelation as an actress. Watch her facial expressions change instantly as she responds to other people. She is marvelous. There is an incredibly funny dialogue between her and her French friend who lives in US, played by an actress, also very good, whose last name, i believe, is Buttle. Many of the commentators seem to believe that this dialogue shows the two women to be stupid, but I disagree. What the whole film slyly hints at is the stupidity of conventional, sectarian, ideologically driven psychoanalysis. These women, in their innocence of ideology, see thru the veil. As does Beatrice in her role as makeshift therapist. What makes her a wonderful therapist is her RESPONSIVENESS, as indicated above, to what is happening in the moment with each patient as an individual. Unhampered by rigid doctrine, she gives each what they need, not a load of ideology. I would love to see the actual script, but haven't been able to find it.
2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- some strange/corny dialogue, but I can't bring myself to give a JB film a bad score, 4 December 1999 Author: Steve Conover from Bay Area, CA
I'm totally biased. Not objective or dispassionate. Juliette Binoche is my favorite actress of all time and every time I see her do anything on screen it's captivating. And William Hurt is one of my favorite actors. And the idea for the film was a very good one, however I think the french writer must have been resposible for most of the dialogue because a lot of it is nonsensical/out of place.That said, nice little stories like these (not cheesy, just "light") are one of the resons why I love film. I think of Chacun Cherche son Chat for the epitome of what I'm talking about...I saw this with my gf (now wife) at the Kabuki in SF and we both had a great time.
A blind guiding blinds. Silly shrink on the loose, 9 April 2008 Author: esagarnaga-1 from United States
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Undoubtedly, we are talking about a film released twelve years ago, so we can cut some slack here to the imprecisions and errors in the script, but even though it tries to be a comedy, I couldn't help to become completely baffled with the way the pace is conducted and forcibly led. There are too many obvious silly details that make me wonder if the director was trying to tease the spectator or simply was disregarding those for the sake of the time frame and the so-called comedy. William Hurt portrays a very stiff and iconic psychoanalyst and during the whole time he is meddled in ridiculous situations, maybe because his own stiffness has those inevitable consequences. I never was convinced by his portray; why he decides to go to Paris? why he comes back? why doesn't have the gull to tell Beatrice who really he is from point one? How come all of the sudden he falls in love with Beatrice? During the whole film you wonder if this renown expert is more novice than Beatrice who actually looks like performs at the couch better than him. I think that the role assigned to William Hurt was bad developed, bad implemented and bad performed. Maybe not to put the blame on him. The end was pushed because there were no more stereotypic ideas to exploit, or maybe the budget was short, or maybe everybody had something better to do so it was better to kill the movie than keep on going. Anyway, you end up completely bemused and wondering about what just happened. I wouldn't recommend this film if not for watching Juliette Binoche, who is always a delightful gift for the eyes.
Excellent movie that will please both genders., 11 March 2003 Author: phergett from USA
This is the rare sort of romantic comedy that takes a simple premise (psychiatrists are probably full of s**t) and proves it when Juliette Binoche and William Hurt (the hapless psychiatrist) enjoin one another to use the other's flat while on vacation in the other's country. Hurt takes up residence in her Paris flat and gradually finds himself drawn to the mysterious person who lives there when he goes through some of her personal things. (Neither have met, they merely answered each other's advertisements from the newspaper.) The story continues to grow more complicated when a quirk of circumstance would have Juliette act as psychotherapist with one of William Hurt's patients in his absence. Upon his return to the States, Hurt meets the mysterious femme with whom he exchanged flats. Then, he is confronted with what has happened, not only with this one patient but in fact with ALL of his patients and the romantic comedy is thrust into the full swing. A very good movie, and a very fun and insightful script treated with a rare blend of intelligence and wit. This movie was made for Juliette Binoche, and Hurt carries off the role of her love interest with charm and elegance.
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