Prete-moi ta main (I Do: How to Get Married and Stay Single) (2006)

53% of critics liked it
(15 reviews)
71% of users liked it
(4,870 ratings)

Life is easy for 43-year-old Luis, a happy single guy, fulfilled in his job of star nose with a perfume creation company, cosseted by his mother and five sisters. It could have lasted for a whole life, but fed up with mollycoddling and helping him, his mother and sisters decide it's time he got… More Life is easy for 43-year-old Luis, a happy single guy, fulfilled in his job of star nose with a perfume creation company, cosseted by his mother and five sisters. It could have lasted for a whole life, but fed up with mollycoddling and helping him, his mother and sisters decide it's time he got married, and the sooner the better!Surrounded and hounded by his family who think only of marrying him off, he comes up with an infallible plan: he'll find the perfect woman who'll pretend to be his fiancee and then, on the day of the wedding, will cruelly dump him. After that, for certain no one will dare even mention the word 'marriage' in front of him. But how do you go about finding such a gem? Luis sees only one solution: hire her! And it just so happens that Emma, his best friend and colleague's sister, has recently arrived in Paris and is looking for a job. The plan is underway. At the end of it lies Luis' freedom!

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Eric Lartigau
Genres: Comedy

On DVD: Dec 9, 2008
Studio: Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm

Critic Reviews

Lisa Nesselson, Variety
Remains in conventional (if enjoyable) movie territory from start to finish.
Enrique Buchichio, Uruguay Total
(...) Es el tipo de película sobre la cual no puede decirse nada demasiado positivo ni demasiado negativo. A veces está bueno ir al cine sabiendo que no hay que esperar más que eso.
Anthony Quinn, Independent
Proof that the French can make romcoms as annoying as ours.
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
Prominent base notes of chauvinism and insincerity here.
Karl French, Financial Times
A stilted, intermittently winsome story.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
A sugary romcom from France, thin on characterisation but carried off with a certain brio.
Leigh Singer, Film4
A jaunty, very funny comedy juiced up by a light touch and crack timing from two perfectly matched lead actors.
Ann Kelly, BBC
Every now and then the wry character-comedy that I Do could have been peeks out, only to be kicked in the head by - say - a cringeworthy fake bondage scene.
Kevin Harley, Total Film
The old gender-tussle tune is played lightly and wittily, with a streak of mischief peppering any risk of schmaltz.
Wally Hammond, Time Out
A heavily contrived, undemanding and often funny mainstream Paris-set comedy-drama.
Anna Smith, Empire Magazine
Charming performances make this an easy watch.
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
Perhaps, buried in all of this, there is meant to be some comment on the emasculated state of modern man -- but really it is the film itself that comes off half-cocked.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
Family relationships are in the spotlight in this pull-me, push-me tug of war of emotions that tackles all our differences head-on. It's funny and sweet.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dean M

Great funny, heart-warming tale about love, commitment and family. How sweet and enjoyable this French film is. And Alain Chabat is hilarious and he made his original idea of this comedy-romantic story amazing.
Mark A

The first half of this was entirely predictable and almost lost this viewer as it strictly followed the script. The second half proved much more entertaining as the pseudo-couple, Luis (Alain Chabat) and Emma (Charlotte Gainsbourg) moved on to Plan B after Plan A backfired. We always… More
The first half of this was entirely predictable and almost lost this viewer as it strictly followed the script. The second half proved much more entertaining as the pseudo-couple, Luis (Alain Chabat) and Emma (Charlotte Gainsbourg) moved on to Plan B after Plan A backfired. We always knew how it was going to end up, but the journey proved to at last move in some interesting directions after the failure of the initial plan. There was an interesting dynamic playing out with the women proving to be stronger willed than the men. The subplot regarding Emma's desire to adopt was handled well, and the social worker brought a little added humor to the plot with her constant confusion over Emma's status. If one can make it through the first half, there is a payoff at the end, but this could have been improved with a few more twists early on. Two stars for the first half, and four for the second, average out to a three star bit of french fluff.

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Prete-moi ta main (I Do: How to Get Married and Stay Single) (2006)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Dean M

Mark A

Cast

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