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| French poster artwork for the romance drama film The Cherry On The Cake (La Cerise Sur Le Gâteau). |
Fleeting
Feelings by Linh
The
Cherry On The Cake /La
Cerise Sur Le Gâteau is actor/writer Laura Morante’s directorial debut and
although it is advertised as a rom-com (romantic comedy), it actually seems
like a parody of the typical American rom-com. This film has the best elements
of a Woody Allen rom-com and similar wit and dialogue seen in Nora Ephron
films. Morante has added a darker tone to the narrative in her rom-com that
deals with psychoanalysis and gender relations in romantic relationships being
central to the storyline. This makes the film appear to have more substance but
the style remains typically of the rom-com genre.
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CHOICE
CHERRY: Amanda (Laura Morante) wants the cherry on the cake but
her partner Bertrand (Frédéric Pierrot) is also keen for the cherry in the film
The Cherry On The Cake (La Cerise Sur Le Gâteau). Image: Nuts
and Bolts Production.
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Throughout the film, love never runs smoothly or ends
happily for protagonist Amanda (Morante), who believes that she suffers from
androphobia, which is a type of anxiety disorder and an irrational fear of men.
This is not to be confused with misandry, the hatred of men, as Amanda appears
to love men and be fond of all her former male lovers. Amanda has a tendency to
end relationships whenever things become too comfortable and serious by finding
the most inane and tiniest of reasons to dump her lover. She dumps her current
partner Bertrand (Frédéric Pierrot) as they are celebrating their anniversary
at a restaurant after he eats the only cherry on the cake without first
offering it her.
When her friend Florence (Isabelle Carré) hears of Amanda’s
breakup, she suggests they go to a New Year’s Eve party her office colleagues are
organising. Florence tells Amanda that all the men from her office are
heterosexual except for one. At the office party, Amanda meets Antoine (Pascal
Elbé) and is immediately attracted to him. Florence is thrilled until she
realises Amanda is only comfortable with Antoine because she mistakenly
believes he is gay. Florence and her husband Hubert (Patrice Thibaud), the
psychoanalyst, devise a plan to exploit that misperception until Antoine, who
has fallen for Amanda, becomes so important to her that he can reveal his love
without fearing she’ll end their close friendship.
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ANDROPHOBIC
ACT:
Amanda (Laura Morante) tells Florence (Isabelle Carré) about her break up with
long-time partner Bertrand (Frédéric Pierrot) in the film The Cherry On The Cake (La
Cerise Sur Le Gâteau). Image: Nuts and Bolts Production.
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The film’s title is apt as it not only marks the reason
for Amanda’s recent breakup, but the concept of a “cherry on top” indicates
something wonderful coming after something that is already considered to be
good. Antoine is likely to be the best lover Amanda will have in a long time,
but her belief of his homosexuality makes him an innocuous “friend” so she
feels comfortable being with him. However, Antoine can also feel safe in the
fact that he does not have to tell Amanda the truth that he is heterosexual and
still be romantically involved with her. This situation raises problems for
Antoine as he needs to perform and behave as if he is gay in order to keep
Amanda interested in him, until the time comes when she is so in love in with
him that he can reveal the truth. Perhaps the truth from Antoine is the “cherry
on the cake” for Amanda?
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PLAUSIBLE
PLAN: Florence (Isabelle Carré) and her husband Hubert
(Patrice Thibaud) plan to exploit Amanda's misperception of Antoine's sexuality
to help her overcome androphobia in the film The Cherry On The Cake (La
Cerise Sur Le Gâteau). Image: Nuts and Bolts Production.
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Amanda’s perspective in the film may support French
philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s ideas that romantic relationships are extremely
hard to sustain and may not even be worth the trouble anyway. However, Sartre’s
idea is also opposed because despite Amanda’s unusual phobia that is keeping
her single, her friend Florence has been happily married to Hubert for fifteen
years with an adopted daughter, Noémie (Loucille Clément), so the effort may be
worth it in the long term even though challenges in relationships arise
frequently.
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AMOROUS
ATTRACTION: Antoine (Pascal Elbé) and Amanda (Laura
Morante) arrange to meet again after the New Year's Eve party in the film [The Cherry On The Cake (La Cerise Sur Le Gâteau). Image: Nuts
and Bolts Production.
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In the film, the character of Amanda defies many of
Hollywood’s typical romantic heroines in relation to her age, being an
unbearable androphobic and the subject matter of sexuality is dealt with more
consideration than the formulaic Hollywood rom-com would tackle it. This film
parodies the sentimentality of rom-coms and pokes fun at Hollywood rom-coms by
reproducing particular clichéd romantic scenes but placing them in the arthouse
vein, such as couples walking together in the park, couples sitting beside a
warm fireplace, cherry blossoms on the trees and the petals being blown around
by a cool breeze etc.
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ASSESSING
ANTOINE: Amanda (Laura Morante) and Florence (Isabelle Carré)
discuss Antoine's sexuality in the film The
Cherry On The Cake (La Cerise Sur Le
Gâteau). Image: Nuts and Bolts Production.
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Morante (A Farewell
To Fools, Romeo and Juliet) gives
a strong performance as Amanda, the editor of a book publisher, who is an
affable woman despite being annoying, complaining constantly and is overly
protective of her emotions and guarding herself from heartbreak; Isabelle Carré
(The Day Of the Crows, Looking For Hortense) is wonderful as
the warm-hearted and compassionate friend Florence; looking nothing like the
typical gay man stereotype he is perceived to be in the film, Pascal Elbé (The Other Son, Piégé) is rugged, conservatively dressed and stoic as Amanda’s love
interest, Antoine; Samir Guesmi (Camille
Rewinds, Granny’s Funeral) is
hilarious in his scenes as Maxime, the only gay man in Florence’s office, while
pretending to be Antoine’s gay lover; and Patrice Thibaud as Hubert the
psychoanalyst, has the best one-liners as he and his wife Florence analyse the
budding romance between Amanda and Antoine, while convinced their plan will
help Amanda overcome her androphobia.
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DINNER
DATE: Antoine (Pascal Elbé) and Amanda (Laura Morante) enjoy
their first dinner together in the film The
Cherry On The Cake (La Cerise Sur Le
Gâteau). Image: Nuts and Bolts Production.
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The
Cherry On The Cake is a good-humoured and warm romantic farce
about relationships, romantic illusions and happiness. The plot may be
implausible at times, but the character interactions and the clever dialogue
make this a fine directorial debut for Morante and she is gorgeous as the
leading lady in the film. Hollywood might attempt to remake this film as an
American rom-com, but judging by the failures of previous remakes such as Dinner For Schmucks that starred Steve
Carell and LOL which starred Miley
Cyrus, it would be difficult to improve on the original French version.
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GAY
GUISE: Maxime (Samir Guesmi) poses as Antoine's (Pascal Elbé)
gay partner in the film The Cherry On The
Cake (La Cerise Sur Le Gâteau). Image:
Nuts and Bolts Production.
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Director: Laura
Morante
Writers:
Laura Morante (screenplay), Daniele Constantini (screenplay)
Cast:
Laura Morante, Pascal Elbé, Isabelle Carré, Samir Guesmi, Ennio Fantastichini,
Patrice Thibaud, Frédéric Pierrot, Vanessa Larrè, Yves Verhoeven, Loucille
Clément, Nadia Fossier, Georges Claisse, Sophie-Charlotte Husson, Emmanuelle
Galabru
Producers: Francesco
Giammatteo, Bruno Pésery
Cinematographer: Maurizio Calvesi (Director of Photography)
Original
Music Composer: Nicola Piovani
Film
Editor: Esmeralda Calabria
Production:
Pierre-François Limbosch (Production Designer), Geraldine Laferte (Set
Decorator)
Costume
Designer: Agata Cannizzaro
Languages:
French with English subtitles, and English
Running
Time: 1 hour and 23 minutes
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