God Is Great, and I'm Not (Dieu est grand, je suis toute petite) (2001)

24% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
37% of users liked it
(3,781 ratings)

The star of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 2001 hit Amélie, Audrey Tautou is cast in this romantic comedy as Michèle, a 20-year-old model who has just broken up with her boyfriend and is mired in an identity crisis. Although her life appears to be full, she is convinced something is missing, and thus sets out… More The star of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 2001 hit Amélie, Audrey Tautou is cast in this romantic comedy as Michèle, a 20-year-old model who has just broken up with her boyfriend and is mired in an identity crisis. Although her life appears to be full, she is convinced something is missing, and thus sets out on a mission to inject a bit of spirituality into her life, donning a bindi and dabbling with Buddha. Along the way, she meets François (Edouard Baer), a veterinarian and non-practicing Jew. Before François has time to exclaim "Oy, vey," Michèle is studying the Torah, festooning François' front door with a mezuzah, and asking to meet his parents. Unsurprisingly, this creates some tension between the two, particularly as what initially seemed a passing interest on Michèle's part soon resembles a somewhat disturbing obsession. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Pascale Bailly
Written By: Pascale Bailly, Alain Tasma
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy

In Theaters: Nov 8, 2002 Wide
On DVD: May 11, 2004
Studio: Empire Pictures

Critic Reviews

Ellen Fox, Chicago Tribune
You could watch a heroine barrel into a messy romance all day, provided that she's a lot less dopey than this, but few of Michele's foibles make us sympathize with her.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
The film is a confusing melange of tones and styles, one moment a romantic trifle and the next a turgid drama.
Matt Weitz, Dallas Morning News
Although God Is Great addresses interesting matters of identity and heritage, it's hard to shake the feeling that it was intended to be a different kind of film.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
This off-putting French romantic comedy is sure to test severely the indulgence of fans of Amélie.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Too infuriatingly quirky and taken with its own style.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
I am convinced [Tautou] can do anything, and I recommend the movie almost solely because of her.
Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com
Bailly intends to dissect the fragile psyche of a free spirited non-Jewish fashion model,but for me, the important subject of the film is Francois, a quasi-handsome Jewish veterinarian living in Paris, who has a latent but ongoing identity crisis.
Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals
There's much to criticize about this somewhat farcical romantic comedy, but the talent, beauty and pixieish whimsy of Audrey Tautou isn't one of them.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
It's barely got enough material for a 24-minute episode of Friends, let alone enough juice to solve the mysteries of the universe.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
I was trying to decide what annoyed me most about God is Great... I'm Not, and then I realized that I just didn't care.
Marta Barber, Miami Herald
The plot grows thin soon, and you find yourself praying for a quick resolution.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
An incredibly irritating comedy about thoroughly vacuous people...manages to embody the worst excesses of nouvelle vague without any of its sense of fun or energy.
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com
God is great, the movie's not.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
You can practically smell the patchouli oil.
Kate Sullivan, L.A. Weekly
Audrey Tatou has a knack for picking roles that magnify her outrageous charm, and in this literate French comedy, she's as morning-glory exuberant as she was in Amélie.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Michele is a such a brainless flibbertigibbet that it's hard to take her spiritual quest at all seriously.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Spencer S

I had high hopes for this, as every Audrey Tatou film I have ever seen has been especially cute and quirky, but I still don't know what to make of this melange of artistic style and pretension. It's obviously trying to be a romantic comedy or at least an eccentric take on… More
I had high hopes for this, as every Audrey Tatou film I have ever seen has been especially cute and quirky, but I still don't know what to make of this melange of artistic style and pretension. It's obviously trying to be a romantic comedy or at least an eccentric take on relationships, but it's simply just annoying. The premise of the film is that a lax Jew starts dating a seriously messed up woman who is trying to find herself through Buddhism, Catholicism, and finally Judaism. Eventually she becomes intense on the subject and wants him to re-experience his faith. This could have been fairly deep, but they try to work in so much more including abortion, attempted suicide, and life after love. It's a cacophony of Tatou's strange oddness and yet her perseverance to find some semblance in meaning when she does something she finds morally reprehensible. The beginning, that includes her breakdown and subsequent anxiety, worked really well and made me think the rest of the film would be deep and poignant. Instead it became a feeding frenzy for Edouard Baer's character and Tatou's to fall in love all the while fighting. Though they have this amazing chemistry that simply sizzles onscreen, their actual dialogue is so annoying and useless that I actually became enraged while reading the subtitles and listening to their whiny voices complain about each other's every flaw. The film incorporate chapters, highlighted with notepaper shots, and sometimes uses scenes in English. I suppose this was for a global market, but I don't see how a small film like this could have had any impact anyway. It's usually touted as a light romantic comedy but nothing about this is ever light. Everything is over the top and overly dramatic. The plot is so disjointed that I can't surely tell if what I'm seeing is the full timeline, or a memory, or this rambling set of events that make sense in this strange world they've created. The film ends with to be continued, but no sequel was made, and if they were going to leave it like that all along, it's just a lazy, empty gesture. I am so sad about this film; I may have to have faith in someone else.
Leigh R

What a freakin' odd relationship the leads have.... crazy.
Curtis L

Well, watching this many french Audrey Tautou movies was bound to lead me to a bad one. Totally lame movie about a girl who tries to be Jewish to be with some A- hole guy. Not really worth paying attention too, and so I did some crossword puzzles at I watched.