Reviewer's grade: A-
Like the best champagne, "Priceless" is light, fizzy and intoxicating. But this French romantic comedy, which shows Thursday through Sunday exclusively at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, has the distinct advantage of being hangover-free. Audrey Tautou ("Amelie," "The Da Vinci Code") stars as Irene, a beautiful, unabashed gold digger who has latched onto an older sugar daddy named Jacques (Vernon Dobtcheff).
The two are celebrating Irene's birthday at a resort on the French Riviera when a drunken Jacques falls asleep before any boudoir hijinks can commence. Restless, Irene saunters to the hotel bar, where she mistakes Jean (Gad Elmelah), a good-natured but lowly bartender, for a multimillionaire. A year later, a chance encounter between Irene and Jean at the same hotel leads to another impromptu rendezvous. This time, however, Jacques finds out and dumps the gold digging beauty, who is doubly crushed when she learns that Jean is nearly penniless.
Director Pierre Salvadori, who co-wrote the screenplay with Benoit Graffin, whips up an irresistible confection of a movie that calls to mind the effervescence of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and the sophistication of Preston Sturges comedies. A pitch-perfect farce with wit and style, "Priceless" is also a visual treat, a travelogue of the resorts and retreats populated by France's idle rich. PG-13
"? Phil Bacharach
