TWO IS A FAMILY (DEMAIN TOUT COMMENCE)

Director
Hugo Gélin
(JUST LIKE BROTHERS)

Stars
Omar Sy, Clémence Poésy, Antoine Bertrand and Gloria Colston

The crowds gathered from all around the world for this French adaptation of the 2013 Mexican film INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED. TWO IS A FAMILY not only sold more than three million tickets at the French box office but was also the most popular French language movie of 2017 worldwide.

Omar Sy (THE INTOUCHABLES) stars as Samuel, a charter boat pilot living and working at the gorgeous Côte d’Azur in the French Riviera. A true ladies’ man who can charm his way both into and out of just about anything, the hedonistic lifestyle of the hard-partying Samuel is given a rude awakening by way of a shock arrival one morning. A past summer fling, Kristin (Clémence Poésy), advises Samuel that he is the father of the baby girl that she is currently holding! Immediately after breaking the news to him, the troubled Kristin gets into a taxi and flees, abandoning her child and leaving the impromptu father to care for their daughter, Gloria.

This French comedy/drama is a sweet-natured film that has its heart in the right place in spite of its misguided stumble to get to its ultimate message.

As his baptism by fire into fatherhood begins, Samuel is required to leave the clear blue waters and endless days of sunshine behind in pursuit of Kristin, who lives in London. This entire first act of TWO IS A FAMILY doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is fortunate for it is never genuinely convincing. Because he is not able to immediately locate Kristin, Samuel is required to make something of a life for himself in the English capital. The people that he meets here, which includes a French-speaking stranger that will become his friend, and the employment he gains give TWO IS A FAMILY extra comedic punch. Simultaneously, Samuel is becoming quite fond of his growing child and the film growing closer to the heart as a result. These individual elements begin to compliment the rather whimsical trajectory of the plot quite nicely throughout the middle stretches of the film.

While a good number of its unexpected developments to date are mostly a hit, there are more coming that don’t fit quite as comfortably. It eventually becomes obvious that we aren’t to take TWO IS A FAMILY so lightly after all, which poses a few problems. Not only have there been further less convincing developments made since the opening act, but the scale of drama occurring in the latter half has become quite weighty and high in volume. I’m not convinced that every layer added here is absolutely necessary. The only reliable and consistent ingredients of this movie are an engaging lead performance from Omar Sy, the remarkable feature film acting debut of Gloria Colston, and the touching and beautiful on-screen chemistry they share as father and daughter.

On a side note, the price of admission can (almost) be justified alone to see inside a home that is way beyond cool and may very well be every child’s dream house!

3 stars

Viewer Discretion
M (Coarse language)