Boring, paint-by-numbers Miramax attempt at a French movie about a "feisty" young woman with a troubled past and a heart of gold who blows into town and shows everyone how uptight they are. Every scene suffused with warm Hallmark-card hues, every character completely predictable -- the crotchety old woman with a saucy past, the timid wife whose husband beats her, the sweet old bachelor too shy to court the war widow. All the actors in this awful travesty -- Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, even the cute little dogs -- have done far better work, which "Chocolat" is obviously trying to cash in on.
In short, a good date movie -- if your date just happened to have had a lobotomy. Do yourself a favor and rent a real French film, where, e.g., people actually have sex instead of just talking about it.
In short, a good date movie -- if your date just happened to have had a lobotomy. Do yourself a favor and rent a real French film, where, e.g., people actually have sex instead of just talking about it.