Johnny Depp barely has more than a couple of lines of dialogue and gets perhaps five minutes' worth of screen time in "Happily Ever After." Yet he still manages to steal the movie.
That's both a testament to how dependable and immensely watchable an actor Depp has become, and a reflection of how uninteresting and unpleasant the main characters are in this French-made comedy-drama.
Worse, the film seems to be making a statement about how superior single life is compared to marriage. Which may bring into question the state of the off-screen relationship between actress Charlotte Gainsbourg and filmmaker Yvan Attal (this is their second movie about extramarital affairs).
They star as Gabrielle and Vincent. Now in their 30s, with a child (Ruben Marx), the two have grown bored with their relationship. In fact, Vincent is so bored that he's started having an affair with a masseuse (Angie David). Meanwhile, Gabrielle is trying to pretend she doesn't know about it as she flirts with other men, including a stranger she meets in a music store (Depp, in an uncredited cameo). And alleged comedic subplots follow some of Vincent's friends, including an unlikely womanizer (Alain Cohen), and a hotel manager (Alain Chabat) whose bossy wife (Emmanuelle Seigner) is making married life intolerable.
Whatever points screenwriter/director Attal is trying to make about relationship envy get lost as the marital conflicts become more contrived and shrill. Few if any of these people are likable or sympathetic. But that doesn't stop Attal from throwing in a ridiculous, fairy tale-like ending that the film doesn't earn.
It's no surprise that the central performances seem so forced. In addition to Depp's character, veteran actress Anouk Aimee and filmmaker Claude Berri, who show up all too briefly as Vincent's parents, are all more interesting.
"Happily Ever After" is not rated but would probably receive an R for frequent use of strong sexual profanity and other frank (and sometimes crude) sexual talk, simulated sex and some brief female nudity. Running time: 99 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com