Directed by Caroline Vignal
Starring Laure Calamy, Vincent Elbaz, and Suzanne De Baecque

In a year where I am (somewhat) limiting the volume of new releases I see to give myself greater opportunities at catching up with past movies and classics I am yet to see, there was only one reason I decided I need to see French comedy Iris and the Men. Her name is Laure Calamy.

This fabulous French actress first made a memorable impression on me after seeing the excellent 2021 drama Full Time (À Plein Temps), despite previously starring in My Donkey, My Lover & I (Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes, which I have not seen), a surprise box-office hit in France, and having seen a couple of movies she also appeared in. She was terrific in abortion themed drama Annie’s Fire (Annie Colère), the absolute life of the party and complete scene-stealer in the much better than expected and frequently very funny comedy Two Tickets to Greece (Les Cyclades), which I only very recently watched. These films already prove Laure Calamy’s versatility and talent, both of which are at their height of display in the seriously underrated French dramatic thriller, The Origin of Evil (L’origine Du Mal).

In my humble opinion, Laure Calamy is one of the most in-form and brilliant actresses right now and of the past 3 years and has certainly cemented herself as one of my current personal favourites. It is fair to say that Iris and the Men is not her best role or performance but witnessing a random musical interlude where she sings and dances to “It’s Raining Men” makes all of life’s problems vanish in that instant. Someone cast this magnifique performer in a musical already!

The premise here is one of polyamorous fun. After 2 kids and 22 years of marriage to husband Stéphane (Vincent Elbaz), Iris (Laure Calamy) must come to terms with the fact that any form of romance, raunch or intimacy are dead in the bed. Keen to reignite her love life in whatever ways seem possible, Iris begins meeting other men via a tinder-like dating app called DeeLove. As her secret sexual encounters climb in number, will these experiences result in her starting over at almost 50 or will they somehow spice things up again at home and reunite Iris with her husband?

Buying into this premise comes quite effortlessly and the film’s very light-hearted, not to be taken seriously approach is ostensible from early. With its expectations set and the intended tone in place right away, Iris and the Men is capable of amusing, surprising, and being a pleasant distraction. It does achieve this, albeit intermittently at best, and has missed a number of opportunities due to not quite being as well thought-out as it could’ve been. There is some kink and raunch as Iris goes all 50 shades of play, but I would have liked for Iris and the Men to carpe diem more than it does in this department. After all, it is French, and even the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony featured a ménage à trios! Naturally, its premise and central character’s exploration means Iris ends up in scenarios that do provoke questions concerning monogamy, being unfaithful and dishonest, and addressing and overcoming such challenges, but the screenplay chooses to avoid answering these or settles for easy solutions. Some of these touch points may lead Iris and the Men to becoming more of a dramedy, I acknowledge that, but they also back-up my earlier statement. Something that did pleasantly surprise and even impress me, however, was having a very early prediction concerning a foreseeable conclusion proved entirely wrong. Iris and the Men plays by its own rules, as that wacky and nonsensical musical interlude demonstrates. It just inadvertently writes itself too many to abide by.

Iris and the Men is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from August 15th.

Moviedoc thanks Palace Films and The Backlot Studio for the invitation to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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