Fox Home Entertainment presents

2 Days in Paris (2007)

“You’re so mean…but you’re so right…I love you!”- Marion (Julie Delpy)

Stars: Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg
Other Stars: Marie Pillet, Albert Delpy
Director: Julie Delpy

MPAA Rating: R for (sexual content, some nudity and language)
Run Time: 01h:40m:35s
Release Date: 2008-02-05
Genre: romance

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
A	A+	B	B	C

 

DVD Review

Indie film darling Julie Delpy is a multi-talented actor who has appeared in some of the more memorable, yet little-seen films of the past two decades. She's also a talented writer and director, and 2007’s 2 Days in Paris an amazing, quirky relationship study, was hailed by critics around the world.

Marion (Delpy) and Jack (Adam Goldberg) are the epitome of an international couple; her, a French-born photographer, and him, a red-blooded American. They’re spending a few days on her home turf, visiting her parents (Marie Pillet and Albert Delpy), who are as quirky, and French, as they come. Marion and Jack set off on the town visiting numerous historical sites, including Jim Morrison’s grave and the catacombs (they’re closed, much to Jack’s dismay). Along the way, the pair bumps into one of Marion’s ex-boyfriends at nearly every turn. It isn’t long before such random encounters and revealed secrets challenge the relationship, but it’s possible that the air of romance that permeates from Paris can save them before it’s too late.

This is one of the more underappreciated films of 2007, a completely engrossing, hilarious character study that shows just how deft Delpy is. She knows exactly what to do with the Parisian locales, using them as wonderful backdrops instead of taking the more obvious approach and banking on them to power the entire film. No one plays smart-ass sarcasm like Adam Goldberg, and he’s in top form here. His cynical approach to nearly everything translates into a remarkable, hilarious character that drives this compelling film, which could have easily been a 100-minute, Parisian travelogue snooze fest. Goldberg also refrains from becoming a Woody Allen-esque neurotic cliché, even if his constantly manic line delivery often mimics a character in one of the Wood-man’s films. Delpy’s quite good as an actor as well, but Goldberg gives an Oscar-worthy performance, that she, gladly, lets him run wild with.

Along with Goldberg’s remarkable performance, comes Delpy’s focused, nuanced writing and direction. Instead of a typical entry in a tired genre, she infuses a breath of fresh air into nearly every frame. From the get-go, we’re directly involved in Marion and Jack’s intimate, “real” conversations, with Delpy never retreating with her camera. She doesn’t succumb to the directorial temptations to shoot close-up after close-up either, even when the proceedings become increasingly tense. The tight, fluff-less writing she collaborated on in Before Sunset is the order of the day here as well, but this story is much more than a simple carbon copy of that film.

What is a simple romantic comedy on the surface turns out to be far more than that, delving deep into the complexities of relationships with a sharp edge that appears during the final act. Despite the always annoying presence of a voice-over narrator (Marion, in this case), the final fifteen minutes offer up some emotional twists and turns that will keep you riveted to the satisfying end.

Rating for Style: A
Rating for Substance: A+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.85:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	yes

Image Transfer Review: This 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation looks quite good, with sharp, detailed images throughout. The Paris location brings about wonderfully bright colors that enable this transfer double as a travel agency video for the city. There’s a bit of softness at times and some grain and dirt, but, overall, print flaws are kept to a bare minimum.

Image Transfer Grade: B
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
Dolby Digital 5.1	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio does a nice job remaining in its element, which is really all we can ask for in this type of film. The surrounds come to life during the impressive music cues, but this is a dialogue-centric track. Fortunately, the mix excels in that department, as the actors’ speech is always crisp and clear.

Audio Transfer Grade: B 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 24 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, Spanish with remote access
6 Other Trailer(s) featuring Blind Dating, Resurrecting the Champ, Juno, Feast of Love, Blue State, The Savages
5 Deleted Scenes
Packaging: Keep Case
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. An Interview with Julie Delpy

Extras Review: There aren’t many extras, but what we do get make nice supplements to the film itself. We start with a 16-minute interview with Julie Delpy, during which she talks about how this story came about and what the overall production was like.

Along with trailers for other Fox releases, we get five extended scenes that run for almost 13 minutes. These don’t add much to the overall story, but they’re a nice addition for fans of the film.

Extras Grade: C
 

Final Comments

It’s a shame that 2 Days in Paris didn’t receive a wider theatrical release in 2007. This is an incredible tale of love and the complexities of relationships that includes a hilarious performance by Adam Goldberg. Fox’s DVD is a solid effort, with above average audio and video, along with a couple of extras that offer a nice look at the film’s production.

Chuck Aliaga 2008-02-04