LOVE AND LAUGHS IN JULIE DELPY’S COMEDY LOLO

Straight from France comes this summer’s first laugh out loud comedy for grown-ups, the French box office hit Lolo — written, directed by and starring Julie Delpy. In Lolo, Delpy stars as Violette, a fortysomething fashion industry workaholic who at long last finds romance with Jean-René (Dany Boon) while on a spa vacation. The new couple are polar opposites – she’s a chic Parisienne, and he’s a nerdy computer programmer from the countryside. But against all odds the romance blooms – that is, until they return to Paris from the spa and are greeted by Violette’s 19-year old son Lolo. Lolo has gotten used to being the only man in his mother’s life – and so he launches an effective and hilarious stealth campaign against Jean-René, undermining his mother’s lover at every turn.

Julie Delpy has long embodied sophisticated female characters onscreen in films such as Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and 2 Days in Paris, and here she turns her witty observations to the process of mature characters finding love in the modern world. The idea for the movie first came to her as she thought about what her own relationship with her six year old son – her “little emperor” – would be like in ten years. Says Delpy, “We had fun toying with this notion!”

Like a Nancy Meyers rom-com, Lolo is full of smart observations about the realities of love and relationships — and refreshingly these observations are very much made from a woman’s perspective. In Lolo, Violette and her friends talk in raunchy and hilarious ways about relationships and modern love – speaking with an honesty that audiences will completely relate to. Says Delpy, “I enjoy pushing the envelope and being bold without being vulgar. It’s my writing style.”

The film also laughs at how someone like Violette can be so successful in work – while her personal life is still a mess. Says Delpy, “That’s something true I’ve been noticing in people around me – being good at what you do for a living and living in a fancy apartment doesn’t mean you’re successful in your private life.”

For her romantic interest in the film, Delpy chose one of France’s top male comedic actors, Dany Boon, who is renowned for hits such as Welcome to the Sticks. His gentle goofiness is a perfect counterpart to Delpy’s typically neurotic, fast-talking character of Violette. And when Lolo’s war with Jean-Rene begins in earnest, the film carries on the great tradition of French farce – as Lolo puts itching powder in the poor man’s clothes, drugs him, and even recruits a ridiculous pair of hookers to sabotage his mother’s new romance.

So this week, visit your local theatre for a taste of modern love, Parisian-style with Julie Delpy’s sophisticated and hilarious look at modern love –Lolo!

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