Saw it last night.

We'll have a lot to discuss with this one too, I think. It's an ambitious story Altman-esque in its number of characters. But the focus is on Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts, but the supporting cast is delightful, including Sam Waterston, Stockard Channing, Glenn Close, Stephen Fry, and others.

The film derails with about 20 minutes to go, and I would argue that it has chosen the wrong character as the central character. (I found Naomi Watts' performance heartfelt and affecting, more serious and 3-dimensional than everyone else, but the film is ABOUT Kate Hudson, who plays a much more foolish, shallow, take-sex-lightly kind of character.)

Still, the performances made it worthwhile, in my opinion.

I think the film has the right message to send about love, but it doesn't REALIZE it has the right message. It wraps up saying, 'Hey, go out there, have fun, roll with the punches, sleep around, and hopefully you'll find true love.'

BUT, if you look at who is learning, who isn't learning, and what consequences follow from what actions, you can see that true love, marriage, and fidelity are indeed the ideal, no matter how carefree our heroine feels about things at the end.

J. Robert, you've written a review, and you had harsher feelings about the whole project, if I remember right from scanning your draft. Wanna get into it on this one? (I'm not giving it a big thumbs up... probably a C+.)

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Saw it last night. J. Robert, you've written a review, and you had harsher feelings about the whole project, if I remember right from scanning your draft. Wanna get into it on this one? (I'm not giving it a big thumbs up... probably a C+.)

Sorry to be out of the loop the last several days. I've had a boatload of writing to get done before I head out of town next week.

I pretty much agree with you, Jeffrey. For me, the ending is so awful that it genuinely destroys the film. As I've mentioned here before, beginnings and endings are really important for me. So when a whopper as bad as Le Divorce's comes along, it tarnishes the rest of the film. But the cast is solid, Kate Hudson doesn't have a lot to do besides smile but she has a gorgeous smile, and the Frenchies are enjoyable.

I do think the movie tries to do too much. There are so many different plot threads that none of them is handled particularly well. Naomi Watts could've been a strong character, but she gets drowned out by everyone else. And I'm not as convinced as you that the film knows what it wants to say about love.

The movie's not irredeemable, but it is a disappointment. I gave it two stars, out of five. In your grading scale, that's probably a C- or a D+.

J Robert

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And I'm not as convinced as you that the film knows what it wants to say about love.

No, actually, that's just the opposite of what I think.

I think for those really paying attention, there are lessons that can be learned, yes, but that the filmmakers themselves think they are painting sex as kind of a playground, were sometimes people get hurt but "oh well, that's life, you GOTTA get out on the playground..."

It is hard to argue with the fact that Roxy suffers the consequences of a rash and feeble relationship, and that she is learning and starting out on stronger footing with someone by the end of the film. And it is hard to deny that Isabel is headed for a life of increasing emotional distress as she further cheapens sex and treats it so casually.

For some reason, it seemed completely appropriate to me that the first person she "hooks up with" in France is that loser from "L'Auberge Espanol".