Main Cast: Marie-Christine Barrault, Victor Lanoux, Marie-France Pisier, Guy Marchand, Ginette Garcin
Release Year: 1975
Country: FR
Run Time: 95 minutes
Plot
Love turns out to be all in the family in this romantic comedy from France. When an elderly couple decides to marry, their families come together for a wedding banquet that turns into a raucous, wine-soaked celebration. Marthe (Marie-Christine Barrault) and Ludovic (Victor Lanoux) are distant cousins related by marriage who meet for the first time at the reception; they take an immediate liking to each other and resolve that they should see each other more often. Before long, they've become close friends, but their spouses begin to think there's more going on than just good conversation. However, the more people are convinced the two have become lovers, the more the idea of taking their friendship to the next level appeals to them. Marie-France Pisier has a memorably funny "suicide" scene as Ludovic's wife. Cousin Cousine was a surprise commercial success in the United States, where it received several Academy Award nominations and spawned an Americanized remake, Cousins (1989). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Cousin, Cousine is a prime example of the light satirical French comedy that wins American audiences and inspires an English-language movie. The plot is about the growing relationship between two distant cousins who, through a series of strange family mishaps, keep encountering one another at weddings and funerals. It could have been an inspiration for Four Weddings and a Funeral. Director Jean-Charles Tacchela keeps a suitably madcap tone in a sex farce that's easily digestible, with characters that are pleasurable to watch. Marie-Christine Barrault got an Oscar nomination for her role, as did the film itself. That it did not win Best Foreign Film was something of a surprise, given its critical and commercial success. It inspired, 13 years after its release, an American remake, Cousins, which was a disappointment. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
