VODebut for Anne Giafferi's baby-centric French rom-com, LOVE AT FIRST CHILD

About as manufactured and manipulative as a rom-com can get -- and you know how ridiculous this genre often is -- LOVE AT FIRST CHILD (its French title is the much more mundane, named-after-its-leading-characters Ange & Gabrielle) turns out to be, once you say "OK: I'll play along," a reasonably clever, enjoyable and funny example of this perennially popular movie species. The big difference here has to do with what exists at the core of it all: a surprise pregnancy that involves two generations.

As adapted (from a play by Murielle Magellan) and directed by Anne Giafferi (shown at left), with collaboration from Anne Le Ny, the film begins with an interesting enough premise: The mother of a newly pregnant 17-year-old arrives at the office of the father of the young man who has inseminated her daughter and demands that the father of this father-to-be take his son in hand and make him accept his parental responsibility. Fair enough, if a bit unusual. The  mother is played by the always luminous actress Isabelle Carré (below), and her character is as determined and insistent as you might expect for a caring, concerned but maybe a little-over-the-top mother.

It is regarding the father department that the situation grows more difficult. Not only does the father-to-be want nothing to do with the upcoming birth, but there's a bit of a problem with the new father's father (Patrick Bruel. shown below, right, with Thomas Solivérès, who plays his no-nonsense son). Much of the film's fun and conflict derives from this character, so to say much more would spoil some of that fun.

As the film unfurls, some of that earlier manipulation dissipates, due to the smart and charming performances, and Ms Giafferi's fast pacing (the film lasts only 91 minutes). By the finale, all kinds of romantic connections have been made, and there are a number of adorable babies on view.

So, for fans of this sort of thing, Love at First Child should prove a tolerable, and sometimes even better-than-that experience. (That's Alice de Lencquesaing, above, who plays the expectant young mother with the expected youthful energy and blithe disregard).

From Under the Milky Way, the movie hits VOD nationwide this coming Tuesday, July 11, on all major platforms including iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Microsoft, Vudu, Comcast, Charter, Cox, Vimeo, and various other cable operators. 

The gay romantic comedy comes of age: Jonathan Lisecki's smart, svelte GAYBY

When TrustMovies looked down at his notes as the lights went up after the screening of GAYBY, he was surprised to find only six words on a page usually filled with a couple of hundred. Here they are: "nonstop witty, charming, unpushed, Alex Karpovsky!" He was initially surprised at this lack of notes but immediately realized that the reason was contained in those first two words. The dialog in this film is so funny and clever, smart and real (regarding a certain division of the gay world, at least)  -- and fast -- that he didn't want to miss even a second of it by having to take notes.

Gayby's writer and director, Jonathan Lisecki (shown at left) based this, his first full-length film, on the 12-minute short of the same name he made two years previous, and it takes the rom-com genre into territory that is decidedly gay and -- to some people's eyes, no doubt -- decidedly trans-gressive. With most straight rom-coms, the point is simply to bring, by hook or by crook, her and him together. Most gay rom-coms are con-tent to replace her with another him, but this movie is not about simple substitution.

No, no, no -- Mr. Lisecki has bigger fish to fry and a whole world to show us within these 89-minutes. The two lead characters (above) actually are a man (gay) and a woman (straight), long-time best friends, now growing older, who decide to have a baby together the old-fashioned way. Still, both are indeed looking for a romantic partner of their own sexuality, and so the movie lets us observe their workplaces, dating rituals (below), friends and co-workers.

The writer/director has a knack for splendidly witty, sophisticated (gay-centric style, at least) dialog, and his expert cast offers this up in rat-tat-tat, screwball-comedy fashion that quickly puts you on alert: Keep up or get lost. (I admit to missing some of this crack repartee, so I can't wait to see the film again -- but on DVD, where I can turn on the English subtitles so as to get every last word.)

In the leading roles, Jenn Harris (above, left) and Matthew Wilkas (above, right) capture just about everything that two long-time friends could feel about themselves, each other and the journey they've set off upon -- from the annoyance to the pain, joy, disappointment and, yeah, the boredom implicit in all this.

The filmmaker himself (above, right) takes a large role in the proceedings, and not surprisingly, handles his own dialog like a pro. For his take, alone, on what constitutes a "bear," the movie is worth seeing.

The entire cast is just fine, each member bringing something special to the proceedings. I'd mention each one by name, but truthfully, I am a little unsure, not having taken those notes, just who is who. My note to myself (top paragraph) about Alex Karpovsky (who is but one in the large and talented ensemble supporting cast) simply indicated my surprise and enjoyment at seeing Mr. Karpovsky -- Sleepwalk With Me, Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, Tiny Furniture, Lovers of Hate, etc. -- in yet another movie.

Gayby, from Wolfe Releasing, opens this coming Friday, October 12, in New York City at the Cinema Village and in the Los Angeles area on October 26 at Laemmle's Noho 7. A limited nationwide expansion will follow.

17 GIRLS, from first-time film-making sisters Delphine & Muriel Coulin, opens

Taken from an event that happened in France a few years back, when a num-ber of high-school girls decided to get pregnant together and have their babies without any help or interest -- besides the original insemination -- from their fellows, 17 GIRLS (17 filles) proves a surprisingly smart, thoughtful, believable movie. These young ladies seem quite real and no more or less intel-ligent than French girls of this time and place might be.

The filmmaking duo -- sisters Delphine and Muriel Coulin (above, with Muriel on the left) -- have created a movie that's alternately funny, sweet, sad, and a little depressing, though not particularly deep. Nor can it be, given that its heroines are relatively clueless youngsters who think they know what's going on and what's ahead of them, but then realize too late that they've bitten off more than they can chew -- at their present age, at least.

What especially makes the Coulins' movie -- their first attempt at full-length writing and directing -- worthwhile (other than its array of very good and very specific performances from the girls, some of whom are shown above) is its take on how this rather bizarre situation is looked upon by society at large: from parents and friends to the school's teachers and administration. In general, French society, as shown, seems more enlightened than you might expect. And a hell of a lot more so than ours here in the U.S.A.

17 Girls, from Strand Releasing and running 90 minutes, was first seen by TrustMovies as part of this past year's Rendez-vous With French Cinema (this review has been expanded from my earlier post during Rendez-vous). The film makes its theatrical debut this Friday in New York City at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema and simultaneously will become available via VOD.