Cinemania’08 Review: True Enough

True Enough (La verite ou presque) is like a Parisian version of Woody Allen’s lighter comedies, replete with delightfully unfaithful characters who live relatively glamorous bourgeois lifestyles as television producers and aging novelists. Set to the backstory of the death of a struggling jazz musician from Lyon and featuring equally whimsical music, as well as a cast that plays their roles to a tee, one would think Sam Karmann’s latest would be a top comedy. Unfortunately, the truth (or at least my version of it) is that True Enough is little more than an amusing 90-minute afternoon break that never manages to bring out the depth of character of an Allen movie, nor the out-and-out laughs of a Wilder comedy.

Anne and her insatiable ex-husband Marc

In a nutshell, television producer Anne is married to Thomas (played by the director Sam) but is still sleeping with her successful ex-husband Marc who has a pregnant wife named Caroline who works for Anne and has in turn also caught the eye of Thomas. The main story involves gay author Vincent being coerced into working on a television documentary by Anne. Having just completed a successful biography, his next subject is a jazz singer who died years ago. This main storyline thread runs to completion as Vincent and Anne learn to work together despite their creative differences in an effort to interview the reclusive relative of the singer. Playing within and around this plot are the unfaithful characters, all of which seem to have no qualms about cheating or being cheated upon. While this sexual liberation might be fine fodder for a sitcom, the comedies late turn into semi-drama with the biopic story does not reflect into the sexual misadventures. With this turn to drama, the lack of consequences in the sexual sphere either makes this a genuinely French film or one that is never true enough (or is that the point?).

Vincent, pondering, contemplative, maybe a little bored

Credit must be given to a fine effort by the actors and actresses, especially Marc played by Francois Cluzet. His character, reminiscent of the nonchalant chauvinistic Sarkozy-like male, brings the most laughs, while Andre Dussolier’s Vincent brings an air of respectability to the whole affair. Karin Viard too plays Anne’s midlife lucrative producer to a tee. Also, the effort made to include the title of the film (which literally translates to: “the truth, or almost”) into all aspects of the relationships and storylines must be commended, even if a play on words is an obvious trait of the comedy. In the end, True Enough is best kept for a rainy day, and then only when Woody Allen and like director’s filmographies have been expended.