HEARTBREAKER ('L'ARNACOEUR') is a delightful bit of French fluff, created as only the French know how. There are 'quotes' from certain films and songs that mix the two main characters together and add to the meringue of the farce. Based on a light story by Laurent Zeitoun, Jeremy Doner, and Yhan Gromb and directed with a fine sense of comic timing by Pascal Chaumeil, this is one of those examples of the farces the French do so well.

Alex Lipp (Romain Duris),his sister Mélanie (Julie Ferrier) and her husband Marc (François Damiens) run a little business: they coordinate efforts to breakup undesired relationships for pay. After a few examples of how the trio works its magic, an assignment takes them to Monaco where they are hired to stop the marriage between Juliette Van Der Becq (Vanessa Paradis) and her wealthy humanitarian fiancé Jonathan Alcott (Andrew Lincoln) - in 10 days time! Alex is avoiding previous client debts represented by a bodyguard Goran (Jean-Marie Paris) but plunges into the formula courtship destruction mode with Juliette; the difference this time is that Juliette seems happily ensconced in the marriage plans and has little time for Alex's plans. But of course through the period of time allotted, Juliette finds qualities in Alex that are missing from her 'perfect' fiancé and Alex breaks his cardinal rule and falls in love with his marked client Juliette. The manner in which the story is resolved is clever and entertaining and heartwarming.

This may not be a great movie but it is a well-acted refreshing little romp to cleanse the palette! In French and English with subtitles. Grady Harp, November 10

I'm no expert on rom-coms I have to say. I don't mind them particularly you understand but I just don't tend to gravitate towards them. This of course means that my views on Heartbreaker are not from the point-of-view of a connoisseur of this genre. And from this perspective I found it to be a perfectly pleasant way to spend an hour-and-a-half of my time. While the story's trajectory did seem a little predictable, the mixture of the romantic comedy with the 'heartbreaker' team seemed to be coming from a new angle. It allowed the film to mix in some action, gadgets and spy tactics into the romantic formula. And really it works quite well all-in-all.

I found the characters to be likable and amusing. I enjoyed the Monaco scenery. And I was interested enough with the various methods the heartbreaker team employed to pull off their scam. While the film doesn't really explain very well why Vanessa Paradis's father does not want her to marry her fiancé, and her subsequent romance with her bodyguard isn't really very believable, it doesn't ultimately matter very much as the film's tone is playful and a bit silly, so lack of believability isn't exactly a deal-breaker here. Overall, Heartbreaker has most probably been so successful as it's a rom-com that guys and girls can both enjoy.

"Heartbreaker" is worth seeing. However, it's also very frustrating to watch because the film starts off wonderfully and through the course of the film it just sort of fizzles. It's a real shame as the first 10 minutes is magical!

The film starts with a man and woman on vacation in Egypt. However, they don't seem very compatible and soon she is being wooed by a very nice stranger. Then you learn that the stranger is not there by accident. He and his partners make up a strange service--one that helps break up toxic relationships. In other words, parents or friends who KNOW you are in a bad relationship can pay these schemers to destroy the couple. However, these folks are NOT totally mercenary. They won't break up genuinely happy and healthy couples nor will they break folks up for ridiculous reasons like race. So, the viewer actually LIKES the work these people do.

Soon after this wonderful intro, a group of mob types announce that they service is inexplicably heavily in debt--and they must produce the money fast or else. So, they take a job from a nasty guy--and their commitment to their ethics is challenged. After all, the couple seem very happy, well-matched and decent. Can the breakup artist STILL do his job when given this sort of situation?

Had the film been more episodic like the beginning and showed funny scenarios of breakups, it might have worked much better for me. Having the focus ONLY on this one couple with few problems was very problematic--as it became a bit dull AND the finale made zero sense at all. Nor did the friend that the lady had--as they seemed way too different in values and attitude to make it believable that they'd ever be friends. It's a shame, as the film did start off well and it does have some really nice moments scattered through the picture--but it just tried my attention span as it progressed and the film was a mild misfire.