Après Vous

The old saw that no good deed goes unpunished is at the center of Pierre Salvadori's comedy about Antoine (Daniel Auteuil), a man so determined to make a nebbish named Louis (Jose Garcia) believe that his life is worthwhile that Antoine nearly ruins his own. After Good Samaritan Antoine rescues Louis from a suicidal attempt to hang himself, the former tries to restore the latter's will to live—first by getting him back together with his estranged girlfriend Blanche, who's now engaged to someone else, and then by securing him a job as a sommelier at the restaurant where Antoine works, despite the fact that the guy knows nothing of wine and can't deal with people. Antoine's concern for Louis poisons his relationship with his own longtime girlfriend, who can't understand why he assumes such extraordinary responsibility for this loser (a sentiment most viewers will share), but then in the effort to reunite Blanche with Louis, Antoine falls for Blanche himself—yet another complication. Of course, this being a comedy, everything turns out all right. Unfortunately, however, Après Vous is a comedy that grows increasingly irritating as it plods along: Antoine's motivations are never made remotely comprehensible, Garcia brings absolutely no charm to his portrayal of Louis, and even the lights of Paris seem unusually dim in this limp, lackadaisical farce. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)