Les Biches

A bit of a shocker in its day, director Claude Chabrol's (Madame Bovary, The Story of Women) exploration of an explosive ménage a trois with a distinct lesbian angle doesn't pack quite the punch it did a quarter of a century ago. Stephane Audran (Babette's Feast) stars as the wealthy socialite lesbian Frederique, who picks up a young sidewalk painter named Why (played by Jacqueline Sassard, the continuous repetition of the name "Why" is apparently meant to provide that joyous frisson from being an audience to philosophical art, not to mention the obligatory nod to Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First.") Frederique takes Why to her summer mansion in St. Tropez, where a pair of total (and totally unbelievable) idiots reign, Jacques and Fernand--these guys clearly aspire to both the emotional and intellectual level of a three-year-old, and are onscreen far too often. The monkey wrench appears in the form of architect Paul Thomas (Jean-Luis Trintignant) who seduces Why, spurring jealous rage in Frederique, who, in turn, seduces Paul. When Frederique and Paul hit the road for gay Paree, Why is left to stew in her own emotional juices, and eventually decides to go looking for revenge. A well-done film, but the oh-so-'60s flavor of the movie is likely to seem embarrassing precisely to those who would care to watch it. An optional purchase. (R. Pitman)