Le Divorce

Amazon.com

The cinematic team of Merchant Ivory (Howard's End, The Remains of the Day) leaves corsets behind for the contemporary world of Americans in Paris. The day Isabel Walker (Kate Hudson, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days) comes to visit her pregnant sister Roxy (Naomi Watts, Mullholland Drive) is the day Roxy's French husband leaves her. The divorce proceedings end up centering around a painting, long owned by the Walkers, that the husband's family would like to claim--but their maneuverings are complicated when Isabel begins an affair with a diplomat (Thierry Lhermitte, The Closet) who just happens to be Roxy's uncle-in-law. At its best moments, Le Divorce has the feel of one of Woody Allen's serio-comic films like Hannah and Her Sisters, and there's a genuinely suspenseful climactic scene on the Eiffel Tower. Also featuring Leslie Caron, Glenn Close, Matthew Modine, Stephen Fry, Sam Waterston, and Stockard Channing. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Kate Hudson (Almost Famous) lights up the screen as Isabel, a film school dropout who jets off to Paris when her pregant step-sister Roxy (Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive) is abandoned by her husband. Soon, Isabel has a scandal of her own when she falls for an older man who's related to Roxy's cheating husband! Ths stylish romantic comedy by the acclaimed Merchant Ivory team (The Remains of the Day) features a top cast, including Stockard Channing, Glenn Close, Matthew Modine and Bebe Newirth.

Customer Reviews:

Excuse My French.......2007-04-06

Kate Hudson is prettier than her mother, but she doesn't have half her range. Nevertheless she is well cast as Isabel, particularly in the scenes in which she finds herself drawn to her enigmatic uncle, Edgar Cosset, played as a sophisticated pundit by the one and only Thierry Lhermitte. When Edgar appears on TV, don't ask Isabel to do anything but stare at the screen. Even if the house was burning, she'd be there slack jawed forgetting all about anyone else she's with. I felt sorry for that other boyfriend Isabel had, that little nothing with the frizzy, greasy hair, but he was too much of a boy to compare to the magnificent Thierry Lhermitte.

He gives her a red Kelly bag which she then totes everywhere as a symbol of his love, and consequently everyone finds out that the two are involved. We, the viewers, can see a mile ahead of Isabel and know he's just using her, quel tragedy. If it was me, I'd have stapled myself to Thierry Lhermitte's iconic fesses before I let him kiss me off with a silk scarf, no way, Jose!

Obviously author Diane Johnson was interested in doing a French version of the Sylvia Plath-Ted Hughes story. In both stories a female American poet, very pretty with blonde hair and two children, a boy and a girl, find themselves trapped in a foreign country when their sexy native husbands just dump them for younger, darker, more ethnic seductresses who also happen to be married. And then the female poets at the center of the storyline attempt suicide. The only difference in this story is that you would have to imagine that Sylvia Plath had a younger, peppy sister who went to England to help out and wound up sleeping with Ted Hughes' uncle. Case closed, except for, the way Matthew Modine plays David Wevill, Wevill should sue. The whole movie falls apart everytime Modine hogs center stage with his demented ramblings. French police in real life would have shot him in an instant the first time he steals Kate Hudson's striped umbrella in the rainstreaked courtyard to her building, yes, and packed him off to Devil's Island, good riddance.

An underappreciated film.......2007-04-03

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and it boasts a very talented cast, from veterans Sam Waterston and Glenn Close to Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson. This film is a delicious foray into French culture. After watching it with some friends, I annoyed them by speaking in a French accent for the next fifteen or so minutes and told them of my resolution to start wearing "scarves." (Apparently, if memory serves me correctly, there are a dozen or so different ways to say scarf in French, depending upon context and style.)

The American in Paris, Roxanne (Watts), and her visiting sister, Isabel (Hudson), are thrown for a loop when Roxanne's husband announces his intent to file for a divorce. A painter of sorts, Roxanne's husband has found a new muse in a married Russian woman. The Russian woman is married in turn to an American (Matthew Modine), and this man goes ballistic when he discovers the affair and literally, puts "an end to the affair." (Sorry, couldn't resist the reference to another movie with Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore.)

Roxanne will not agree to le divorce and learns that she is pregnant. The most disturbing part of this movie is when Roxanne attempts suicide while pregnant. Granted she wasn't in her right mind: a woman's hormones are all over the place during pregnancy and add to that the stress of an impending divorce suit coming from left field. Fortunately, she is resuscitated, and in time, delivers a healthy baby.

Roxanne's family discovers that a painting of St. Ursula that hung for years in the living room is actually worth millions--Roxanne brought this family heirloom with her to Paris, and her husband, knowing its value, wants it as part of the divorce settlement.

There are other subplots, like the affair between Isabel and Roxanne's "uncle-in-law," whose right-wing politics leave little to be desired. He tires of women easily, giving them a red Hermes purse as an introductory gift and a silk scarf as a parting gift. (Glenn Close's character had had an affair with this man many years before his affair with Isabel, but throughout the years, he hasn't deviated from his gift-giving routine: a red Hermes bag and a silk scarf.)

All-in-all, a worthwhile film that deserves more appreciation :-).

Clever commedy of manners.......2007-03-26

Neither the French or the Americans are spared in this very well written deliciously satirical comedy of manners. Naomi Watts is believable as the sensitive, American expat Roxeanne, who has married into, and is being dumped by, her neer-do well upper crust French artist husband. The late Humbert Balsan plays the decent and considerate French lawyer who comes to her aid.

When Kate Hudson's character, Roxeanne's visiting sister, undergoes a Parisian "education amoureuse" in the arms of Theirry L'Hermitte, a right-wing politician, who ritually begins each of his affairs with the gift of a Hermes bag and ends them with a silk scarf, the sensual glories of France, its food, its love of fine underclothes ("les messieurs adorent ca", and perfumes are laid before us, photographed as only Merchant and Ivory can.

My favorite scene was that of the visiting American parents and the boorish brother at Le Tour Argent. Stephen Fry, as a representative of Christie's auction house, does a wonderful turn as a no-nonsense British businessman character, "I used to be in wines before I got into old masters."

Matthew Modine is hilarious and sinister as an unglued cuckolded husband. The Hermes bag floats over Paris in the final scene in an homage to the famous movie "The Red Balloon."

Excellent Movie.......2007-02-09

If you like Kate Hudson, this is a must see! The characters, dialogue, and setting are fantastic. A good watch for girls night!

Requires more than one viewing.......2007-01-11

The majority of the Amazon reviewers for this movie were unhappy with it, but I think most of them didn't really "get" the movie. I think Americans who've lived abroad, especially in Europe, are more likely to appreciate the views expressed in this film concerning culture clash between Americans and Europeans, the French specifically.

I won't outline the plot, as that is done in too many other reviews, but let me just say that I came to appreciate this film more the 2nd and 3rd times I viewed it. The script somewhat forgoes conventional character development, and the viewer must be savvy enough to pick up on the characters' actions to discern their motivations. Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson make two pretty believable sisters as Roxy and Isabel -- Roxy is married with one young child and another on the way when her husband leaves her. Isabel is the affectionate but somewhat self-absorbed, immature younger sister who comes to Paris to keep Roxy company, but definitely persues her own agenda and ends up getting sucked into some sordid goings-on with her French in-laws.

The film touches on many themes and deals with the emotional upheaval and trauma of divorce while at the same time trying to retain the feel of intelligent romantic-comedy. It is perhaps trying to accomplish too much, as you can tell by the editing that some scenes were cut out to prevent it from being an over-long film. This is especially evident in Isabel's relationship with Yves. One minute, she's meeting him, and the next she's in bed with him. That is unfortunate on the filmmakers' part, but it didn't take too much enjoyment away from me, as I didn't have a problem filling in the blanks. But I know that not everyone can tolerate these kinds of faults in filmmaking.

As someone who lived in Europe for 5 years, I think I enjoyed it more than viewers who have more limited experiences of European lifestyle versus American. Another plus of this film is that it offers some great views of "insider" Paris, and Roxy's and Isabel's wardrobes are FANTASTIC. Beautiful clothes. My main annoyances with this film are the stupid flying Kelly handbag scene at the end (totally unnecessary), and the new DVD cover, featuring Kate and Naomi in outfits that were never seen in the film.

Average customer rating:

Well, I think it's a Great Movie!
The plot, in a nutshell
Don't waste your time or money!

All You Need
Starring: Janet Carroll , Mary Jo Catlett , Gloria Le Roy , Kellie Martin , and Robert Pine
Manufacturer: Direct Source Label
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0007QCLQ8
Release Date: 2005-02-22

Customer Reviews:

Well, I think it's a Great Movie!.......2006-11-23

I was very happy to see that this movie was for sale and quickly bought it! I had watched it several times on TV and loved it! Although it may be formatted a little different, it is still worth the time and money to own it and watch it! I think that it's a great movie and I think that Kellie Martin's character is played out very well! I would definetly recommend this movie!

The plot, in a nutshell.......2005-03-22

This is a movie DESPERATELY in search of an identity.
It seems to be trying to be a family drama but without much sense of direction. There are all sorts of loose ends. First, there is the alcoholic mother who is confronted by her family but never really pushed into treatment. Then there is the daughter whose husband leaves her on Thanksgiving without much explanation.
The movie could have worked IF:
1. It had a shred of believability. The characterizations aren't believable and the story line is weak, at best. Kellie Martin, who plays the divorced daughter, is supposed to be brave and stoic but instead comes off as hard and uncompassionate.

2 There was any pivotal moment - or even a few key moments. But no, there are no resolutions that make sense and more than a few cheap teasers that insult the viewer's intelligence, including one scene where Ms. Martin nearly falls into her bed with her sister's husband - and THEN has the nerve to tell him that if he EVER cheats on her sister, she'll kill him.... just as if she didn't go to the edge with him earlier in the movie.

Also, the movie seems to meander all over the place and (SPOILER ALERT) by the end of the movie, Mom is still a raging alcoholic and...in what is supposed to be a lightbulb moment, I assume..the divorced daughter realizes that "even a single note can sound lovely" and so she rejects her ex when he comes begging for another chance.
In short, this a formula movie with a capital F. Barely watchable and only if the choice is between this and watching paint dry.

Don't waste your time or money!.......2005-03-17

If there were a choice below 1 star, that would be my rating for this movie. I bought at Walmart -- this and another movie bundled for $5.98. I should have known by the price, that it couldn't be much of a movie. Horribly depressing, terrible storyline. I almost stopped watching half-way through, but kept thinking something may happen to redeem this movie. I was wrong! Don't even want to donate this movie to church rummage sale. Believe I will just throw it away!

Average customer rating:

Cool Movie, But Lacked DVD
Wonderful example of great French cinema.
misplaced nudity

La Petite Lili
Starring: Nicole Garcia , Bernard Giraudeau , Jean-Pierre Marielle , Ludivine Sagnier , and Robinson Stévenin
Director: Claude Miller
Manufacturer: First Run Features
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0009PW3U6
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Amazon.com

Inspired by The Seagull, Claude Miller's La Petite Lili takes place in present day Brittany. While Chekhov's play was set in a theatrical milieu, longtime Truffaut associate Miller (Alias Betty) sets his film in a cinematic one (a là Day For Night). The title character is an aspiring actress (Ludivine Sagnier, Swimming Pool), who is seeing experimental filmmaker Julien (Robertson Stévenin). She would prefer to be working with an established commercial director like Brice (Bernard Giraudeau, Ridicule), who is involved with his leading lady--Julien's mother, Mado (Nicole Garcia). By the conclusion, Lili will have achieved her goal, but at what cost? Well, unlike The Seagull, La Petite Lili isn't a tragedy, so no one character will make out too badly. And as in François Ozon's Water Drops on Burning Rocks, itself based on a play (by Rainer Werner Fassbinder), Sagnier and Giraudeau make for a strangely compelling screen couple. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews:

Cool Movie, But Lacked DVD.......2007-02-02

Video:Non-Anamorphic 1.85:1, Non-Progressive, NTSC, Picture is not bad in this dvd spec. / Sound:French DD 2.0, Sound is not bad. / DVD Features:-Interview with Director Claude Miller & -Interview with Actress Ludivine Sagnier & -Director Biography & -Photo Gallery & -Trailer Gallery, Interviews is not image, only text. / Sub:No Sub menu , No Closed-captioned(Amazon`s details are wrong), But English Subtitle is in picture. It can`t Off! / Movie:Cool! / ETC:Ludivine Sagnier is Beautiful and Pretty! But her short nude is in front of the movie only. (If you want naked Ludivine, search for another title) / Rate:Movie is cool, but DVD is lacked. So, Movie Rate+DVD Rate=Rate 3

Wonderful example of great French cinema........2006-07-19

Wonderful film to watch. Brought back memories of what it was like when I started viewing French films more than 20 years ago. Of course, Ludivine Sagnier makes it even more enjoyable yet, as well as the beauitful cinematography.

misplaced nudity.......2006-04-02

'La petite Lili' (= 'the small Lily' in French) is a theatre-play in a movie. As its plot is based on 'the Seagull', a play by the world-famous Russian Anton Chekov, it should be appreciated that way.

Dealing with a cinematic crowd on holiday, 'La petite Lili' allows us plenty of insight in all its human relationships. The red line is provided by the local girl Lili, acted out by Ludivine Sagnier. Lili is ambitious to have a career in the movies, and grasps the opportunity to work her way in.

A Chekov-play put on movie. So this remarkably entertaining DVD emphasizes on dialogue, putting action low. In this respect Ludivine Sagnier's blatant nude appearance in its very first scene is out of tune. Although guiding us to this movie's bottomline, it shows too direct & unsubtle to fit in.

Average customer rating:

Enjoyable but mild love-hate comedy!
Spainsh Class
The Best scenes are with Barbara Eden
Fools Rush Into Greek Wedding...NOT!!!
Better than expected

Loco Love
Starring: Laura Harring , Roy Werner , Gerardo Mejía , Margaret Scarborough , and VictoriaRegina
Director: Bryan Lewis
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000C2IWL
Release Date: 2004-02-17

Product Description

When Donald's wealthy wife leaves him and takes his restaurant with her, help comes in the unlikely form of his gardener and recent lottery winner. The gardener offers him a new restaurant if he agrees to marry his beautiful but shrewish sister so she can get a green card. Cultures clash and roles reverse in this zesty comedy that proves love knows no borders.

Features:

Director Commentary

Deleted Scenes

Behind the Scenes

Full screen Version

Theatrical Trailer

Scene Access

Interactive Menus

System Requirements:

Approx. Feature Running Time 95 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Enjoyable but mild love-hate comedy!.......2007-02-18

This is an entertaining but mild love-hate comedy starring the lovely & talented Laura Harring in a lead role. She plays a hot-tempered & strong-willed Latina woman who marries for a green card. She's not at all the monster that she's made out to be by her brother - singer "Gerardo". It's probably the director's fault for not having her play the role to the hilt. This is the only flaw of the film. That would have been fun to watch, and allowed Ms. Harring to stretch her acting skills. However, her character here comes across as generally sweet and sort of like mild salsa. There's no vindictiveness - think of how good "War of the Roses" was with Michael Douglas & Kathleen Turner. Yet, it's nice to see Laura in all her gorgeous beauty for 90 minutes here rather in brief supporting roles where she only gets a few seconds of camera time. The chemistry between the leads is pretty good. The singer formerly known as "Gerardo" is excellent as the bossy brother-in-law. I especially liked the scene where he goes in for an image make-over and the hairstylist wants to shave off his moustache. Overall, it's a satisfying comedy but could have been better if the script called for more of a battle between the sexes. If you want to watch a hysterical and truly vindictive love-hate relationship, pick up "Love Stinks" starring Frenchie Stewart and Brigitte Wilson.

Spainsh Class.......2004-11-29

I love this movie! I watch this in spainsh class, so I only suggest if you can speak a little spanish then you will love it! It starts off slow but it gets better so be patient. Sorry for the spelling. I can't type with the nails on.

The Best scenes are with Barbara Eden.......2004-04-28

The best scenes of the DVD movie are with Barbara Eden who's always Great in the roles she plays.

Fools Rush Into Greek Wedding...NOT!!!.......2004-01-02

If you loved the Movie My Greek Wedding...Or Where Fools Rush in then you will be bitterly disapointed with this movie!!! Does this mean Loco Love was a terrible movie...not hardly the potential was there. The plot as the other movies have demonstrated was a potential five the execution was a one...leaving me mathmatically speaking with a three for nice try... The actors did a great job with a very mediorce script and I don't think you will be upset that you rented it...but I am sure you will be glad that you did not take your date to the movies to see this one because it does sort of leave you flat...

Better than expected.......2003-11-23

To be honest I never expected much out of Loco Love when I picked it up on the video store shelf. The only reason I rented it in the first place was because it starred Laura Harring whom I've been a big fan of ever since I saw Mulholland Drive. I put it into the DVD player and was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually enjoyed the film.
While it does have some glaring problems, most blatantly the fact that it was probably very low budget and it seemed as if the movie had been made for television. The fact is the movie entertained me much more so than most of the romantic comedies being pushed onto the big screen by the studios. If I had a choice I would rent this again before watching Maid In Manhattan or the Wedding Planner again. Both big Hollywood hits.
Loco Love's plot is simply enough. A well to do man gets dumped by his cheating wife who digs the knife deeper by taking his restaurant he manages from him in the divorce. meanwhile his Mexican gardener has just won 62 million in the lottery and is desperate to bring his sister(Laura Harring) up from Mexico. He makes a deal with the man that if he marries his sister so she can get a green card he will buy him a new restaurant. The only problem is his sister is rather tempered and the two instantly clash. It's no surprise that the two actually end up falling in love and the ending is predictable but the way the audience is led to the ending is what makes this film so much fun.
For those of you wanting to see something new that you might have missed without 50 million on advertising I would check out this movie.

Average customer rating:

Depressing At Times

For Sale
Starring: Sandrine Kiberlain , Sergio Castellitto , Jean-François Stévenin , Aurore Clément , and Chiara Mastroianni
Director: Laetitia Masson
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005AFSK
Release Date: 2001-12-18

Description

After leaving her groom waiting at the altar, a sexy young woman, France, goes on a cross-country journey of self discovery. The obsessive husband-to-be hires a close friend and private detective, Luigi, to track her down and bring her back. Luigi interviews a string of France's ex-lovers and discovers that she has been charging them for sexual favors. Finding himself drawn into her world, Luigi is becoming obsessed with a mysterious woman whom he has never even met. In the end, he is forced to choose between his job and his heart's desire.

Customer Reviews:

Depressing At Times.......2007-08-20

This is a depressing movie at times.

It's about this young woman who doesn't seem to have any direction in her life. She was born and raised in a small town in France but she leaves all that to find 'adventure' in the 'big city'. Her parents are heart broken about this and don't know where she is.

It's a very sexy movie at times (although not rated 'X'). I guess there's something exciting for us to see a beautiful woman who becomes desperate in life and has to go through any and all degradations to get money. Perhaps it touches that part of us that wants to forget all of the various restrictions and consequences that life places on us.

At least its exciting in a movie. When it happens in real life it is quite another matter indeed.

After being degraded in Europe she goes to New York and the process starts there. She passes out in the street from hunger.

It has a somewhat happy ending though. The guy who is twice her age that she left standing at the alter after stealing his money offers to send her a plane ticket to return.

If you call that a happy ending I don't know.

This is a good movie to watch for someone who thinks it might be fun to leave a stable and safe environmnet to go find 'excitement' in the big world.

There's a sort of side plot I guess with the private detective that the jilted groom hired to try to find her. He finds her but then sort of falls in love with her also (the term 'falling in love' being taken in the context of this particular movie). He has his own issues since his wife left him and remarried. He went over to her house and tried to rape her at gunpoint by first seducing her with an ice cream cone.

I don't think this dvd I watched has the option to hear the voices in English so I had to read the subtitles.

Jeff Marzano

Damage

Possession

The Beast (La bête)

Average customer rating:

I Heart Huckabees/Le Divorce
Starring: Jason Schwartzman , Isabelle Huppert , Dustin Hoffman , Lily Tomlin , and Jude Law
Director: David O. Russell , and James Ivory
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0009IW9X4
Release Date: 2005-06-28

Average customer rating:

Le Divorce/Just Married
Starring: Ashton Kutcher , Brittany Murphy , Christian Kane , David Moscow , and Monet Mazur
Director: Shawn Levy , and James Ivory
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002Q9VIO
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Average customer rating:

Excuse My French
An underappreciated film
Clever commedy of manners
Excellent Movie
Requires more than one viewing

Le Divorce [Region 2]
Starring: Kate Hudson , Jean-Marie Lhomme , Naomi Watts , Esmée Buchet-Deàk , and Jean-Jacques Pivert
Director: James Ivory
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000WST6A

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Excuse My French.......2007-04-06

An underappreciated film.......2007-04-03

Clever commedy of manners.......2007-03-26

Excellent Movie.......2007-02-09

If you like Kate Hudson, this is a must see! The characters, dialogue, and setting are fantastic. A good watch for girls night!

Requires more than one viewing.......2007-01-11

Average customer rating:

Down with le Divorce

Le Divorce/Down With Love
Starring: Renée Zellweger , Ewan McGregor , Sarah Paulson , David Hyde Pierce , and Rachel Dratch
Director: Peyton Reed , and James Ivory
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002Q9VJ8
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Customer Reviews:

Down with le Divorce.......2005-01-28

Light and frothy is the game in this two-pack, containing "Le Divorce" and "Down With Love." Neither movie is very deep or innovative, and one of them is more a satire on French ethics than a comedy. However, they are both prettily filmed and moderately entertaining, with some excellent acting from all concerned.

In "Down with Love," role-model feminist Barbara Novak (Renee Zellweger) has written a groundbreaking book for women: She advocates "a la carte sex," and a focus on business rather than romance, which will give women new power in the world. It becomes an international bestseller. But after Novak gets revenge on womanizing man-about-town Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor), he decides to worm his way into her affections by pretending to be a naive astronaut...

As "Le Divorce" opens, hippie-esque Isabel Walker (Kate Hudson) is coming to Paris to look after her pregnant sister Roxy (Naomi Watts). But Isabel walks into the building just as her brother-in-law Charles-Henri (Melvil Poupaud) walks out -- for good. As the two wrangle over the custody of priceless art and their two kids (one still unborn), Isabel slips into a fling with Charles-Henri's sexy middle-aged uncle Edgar (Thierry Lhermitte), while working for one of his former flings (Glenn Close).

What do these two movies have in common? Besides blondes, that is. Well, they're both very pretty. "Down with Love" shines with bright retro colors and over-the-top styles, reminiscent of those 1960s comedies that celebrated color. And "Le Divorce" sparkles with "the city of light," beautiful architecture and beauty of all sorts.

The biggest difference between the two is that "Down with Love" is a homage comedy, harkening back to those Doris Day comedies of the 60s. It's also a romance. "Le Divorce" is more cynical about love and romance, recognizing that often they don't last, and taking a sharp look at the different morals and beliefs of different cultures.

Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger have excellent chemistry as the fiery feminist and the disrespecting charmer, both of whom need a few lessons. Kate Hudson doesn't get to do much except be perky in "Le Divorce," but her costar Naomi Watts is exquisite as the pregnant, wronged wife. Her restrained tears and quiet grief are more eloquent than any scripted lines.

Viewers who enjoy color and light will undoubtedly enjoy the two-pack of "Le Divorce" and "Down With Love." As for those looking for fluffy romance and minor social satire, this also works.

Le Divorce/Bend It Like Beckham/The Banger Sisters

Average customer rating:

Le Divorce/Bend It Like Beckham/The Banger Sisters
Starring: Fox 3pak
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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DVD

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