Une Femme ou Deux (English: One Woman or Two) is a French screwball comedy romance film released in 1985. It was directed by Daniel Vigne [fr], who was also the screenwriter along with Élisabeth Rappeneau. It stars Gérard Depardieu, Sigourney Weaver, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer.[4]
Une Femme ou Deux (One Woman or Two) | |
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Directed by | Daniel Vigne |
Screenplay by | Daniel Vigne and Élisabeth Rappeneau |
Produced by | René Cleitman |
Starring |
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Music by |
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Production company | Hachette Premiere[1] |
Release date | 1985 |
Running time | 97 minutes[2] |
Country | France |
Language | French (English subtitles)[3] |
Budget | 30 million French francs ($3 million)[1] |
Shy paleontologist/archaeologist Gérard Depardieu makes an archeological find of the fossil remains of the first, two-million-year-old, French woman, whom he calls Laura.[5][6][7][8] He is approached and conned by a crass and greedy American model and Madison Avenue advertising executive (Sigourney Weaver), masquerading as a charity organisation executive in order to use the woman for her own perfume advertising campaign.[8][5]
Later the real charity organisation executive, ditzy rich American patroness of the sciences (Ruth Westheimer; Dr. Ruth, in her feature film debut) turns up ... it all develops from there.[9][10][11][2]
The movie is noted as a rework of the American 1938 classic screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.[12][13]
Sigourney Weaver and Dr. Ruth speak most of their dialogue in French.[14]
The film was shot in France (much of it in Paris) and New York City.[1][15] French paleontologist Yves Coppens advised on the film.[16]
It was released in the U.S. under the name One Woman or Two,[17] the literal English language translation of its French language title.
Chicago Sun-Times reviewer Roger Ebert wrote of this film in a half star review, "Add it all up, and what you've got here is a waste of good electricity. I'm not talking about the electricity between the actors. I'm talking about the current to the projector."[17] In 2005 he included it on his most-hated films list.[18]
Richard Harrington writing for The Washington Post said: "it's funny enough, and genial in the way French comedy tends to be."[5]
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, writing for Spirituality & Practice, rated it 3 out of 5, saying the film "abounds in zany situations" and "offers plenty of chuckles."[19]
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