French Kiss
Kevin Kline had a professor to coach him with the French to speak it as a Frenchman. He studied French during his Jr. High/High school years and a year in college. He didn't learn to speak it until he went to Alliance Française in New York.,When Kate first met Bob (the "Eurotrash in an Armani suit" thief) at the George V Hotel, he spoke perfect English. When she met him again at his apartment when Luc was helping her get her things back, it seemed as if he spoke no English. Luc was used as a translator during the entire scene.,Kate: Happy, smile. Sad, frown. Use the corresponding face with the corresponding emotion. But no. You want this mysterious...
Luc: Non. No no no. It is not me who wants it. I don't want it.
Kate: Well what do you want?
Luc: I want you... I want you...
Kate: You want me...
Luc: I want you... to... make Charlie suffer. To make him feel like even though you are right there in front of him, he can't have you.,Near the beginning of the credits, we hear the voices of Kate and Luc. They talk, and then he sings the song "La Mer.",Featured in Siskel & Ebert: French Kiss/My Family/Panther/Village of the Damned/Picture Bride (1995),Les Yeux de ton Père
Performed by Les Négresses Vertes
Written by Mathieu Crespin, Jean-Marie Paulus, Noel Rota, Stefane Mellino and Mathieu Paulus
Courtesy of Sire Records by arrangement with Warner Special
Products and Courtesy of Delabel,A Francophile will probably like this film. I did. Meg Ryan plays a woman who's on the verge of marrying a Canadian, so she's denounced her American citizenship. She's also afraid of flying so she stays home while her fiance goes to Paris on business. Things take a turn for the worse when he calls, saying he's met the woman of his dreams and he's staying in France.

Frantic to get back her man, she boards a plane. Next to her sits a French thief, beautifully played by Kevin Kline, who has problems of his own, most notably how to smuggle a diamond necklace out of the country.

It's a character-driven plot that Cary Grant would have loved - two people who are seemingly so "repelled" by each other but all they need are the right elements to fall in love. I'm generally not a fan of the romantic-comedy, but the French setting sucked me in as did a supporting role played by the always excellent Jean Reno.

As for the authenticity of Kline's accent, I had a good friend from France who claimed it was "formidable." So there.

Very entertaining and worth a watch.

Want more French choices? Try "Frantic" with Harrison Ford, it's Hitchcockian; "Green Card," who can resist Depardieu?; and my all-time favorite Meg Ryan film "Addicted to Love." It's a great black comedy and it has the sizzlingly sexy Tcheky Karyo. "C'est magnifique!",