DUMPED

Cottin and director Eloïse Lang previously worked together on ‘Connasse, Princesse Des Coeurs’ (or ‘Harry Me’) which detailed, in documentary-style, Cottin’s attempt to marry Britian’s Prince Harry. ‘Dumped’ ( a remake of the Danish comedy film ‘All Inclusive’ directed by Hella Joof) is a more conventional film about love and loss, and drafts in veteran actress Miou Miou to add gravity to this very lightweight comedy.

While the storyline of ‘Dumped’ holds no surprises, Cottin, Miou Miou and Camille Chamoux are engaging and funny as the three female members of a dysfunctional family. Cottin’s outspoken, laconic Rose is amusingly contrasted with Chamoux’s uptight Alice. Chamoux shines in a number of comic moments, particularly an attempted seduction scene and an inappropriately timed FaceTime call. Miou-Miou excels as the morose matriarch, delivering blackly comic musings on all the joy that surrounds her (she covers Dalida and Alain Delon’s 'Paroles, Paroles' in a karaoke scene which encapsulates this).

Each of the film’s protagonists is at a different point in their life and tackling their own personal challenges - Francoise’s heartbreak, Rose’s lack of order, and Alice losing her spark through the banalities of motherhood. Much of the narrative relies on humorous character interactions with the distant family reconnecting and supporting (or triggering) each other’s progression and growth.

As you can gather, Lang has a keen eye on what makes the female characters amusing, but her attempts to make the male characters amusing generally fall flat. Not surprisingly in a film which celebrates female solidarity, the dudes (a morose single dad and an ageing lothario who pursues first Rose and then Francoise) are little more than targets for Cottin’s sharp humour.

Elsewhere, Antoine Monod’s sun-kissed cinematography captures an unusual beauty in the Club Med-like tourist trap island setting, whilst an upbeat contemporary pop soundtrack keeps proceedings light and accessible.

‘Dumped’ doesn’t aim to be highbrow, sophisticated satire, but it does deliver the laughs (the audience at my screening were roaring). Full of fun and broad humour, it captures the essence of a holiday at the beach. This film is best enjoyed with a big glass of red wine.