Believe it or not, "Birthday Girl" is one of those all-too-rare instances where the film would have been in better hands if it had been produced by a major Hollywood studio instead of being financed by an independent "boutique" studio like Miramax Films.
A studio head might have insisted that the film remain a frothy romantic comedy, which is the way "Birthday Girl" begins, rather than allowing it to turn into a rather limp comic-thriller. (Not that an executive would make that decision based on the story's integrity as opposed to economics.)
Unfortunately, the movie doesn't survive that drastic thematic transition intact. While the first third of the film is breezy and charming, the second third is decidedly less so — and the final third is nearly excruciating. (Also, the ending seems to hinge on lax security procedures at an airport, which not only feels unrealistic but is, these days, in rather bad taste.)
The title "Birthday Girl" refers to Nadia (a dark-haired Nicole Kidman), the Russian mail-order bride of meek bank teller John Buckingham (Ben Chaplin). John is such a workaholic that he has no time for interpersonal relationships. So the idea of "purchasing" a wife online and circumventing the tricky meeting/romancing aspects seems ideal.
And when John gets a gander at his bride, he is, of course, delighted. However, there are still a few problems to iron out, starting with the fact that she apparently can't understand English. But she is so willing to please, he overlooks such seemingly trivial problems.
Things take a turn for the worse with the arrival of Alexei and Yuri (French actors Vincent Cassel and Mathieu Kassovitz, respectively), two Russian pals of Nadia's who claim to be musicians. John can sense they're trouble, but he doesn't know what to do about it.
Not to give too much of the plot away, but director/co-writer Jez Butterworth's concoction is too similar to Jonathan Demme's 1986, love-on-the-run comedy "Something Wild," both in terms of story and tone.
Surprisingly, it's Chaplin, not Kidman, who nearly makes this work. While her performance is pretty solid (despite her accent being straight out of "Rocky & Bullwinkle"), he's quite convincing as the nave lonelyheart.
Their talented Gallic co-stars also make the most of limited screen time, especially Cassel's tangible air of menace (he's also in "Brotherhood of the Wolf").
"Birthday Girl" is rated R for simulated sex, occasional use of strong profanity, violence (beatings, including violence against women), female nudity and some crude sexual humor and references. Running time: 93 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com