Director: Simon Helberg & Jocelyn Towie
Starring: Simon Helberg, Melanie Lynskey, Maggie Grace, Zachary Quinto
Certificate: TBC
Running Time: 95 minutes
Synopsis: A man screws up on a transcontinental level in a noble effort to win back “the one.”
Closing this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival was the directorial debut from Simon Helberg – a face audiences will recognise as Howard from The Big Bang Theory. Helberg has thrown his hat in all the way on WE’LL NEVER HAVE PARIS as not only does he direct the movie alongside his wife Jocelyn Towie, he also wrote the script, produced and stars in the romantic comedy.
If you are a fan of The Big Bang Theory you will recall facets of Helberg’s main character Quinn as the movie gets going. He’s smart, he’s a bit of a geek and not traditionally good-looking but is ultimately a loveable guy. Well, 3 out of 4 ain’t bad because in WE’LL NEVER HAVE PARIS Helberg has made the decision to include not one attribute that could make Quinn a likeable, let alone loveable, character. He’s a narcissist to the core and not only that; he’s rude, judgemental and deals with his problems in very childlike ways. His character is so entirely abhorrent that the storyline and script are playing supporting roles to this one-man horror show.
Despite the awfulness of Quinn’s personality; WE’LL NEVER HAVE PARIS revolves around his relationship with long-term girlfriend Devon, played admirably by Melanie Lynskey, although her character’s choices don’t give much room for any audience connection. When Quinn gets a sniff that his sexy co-worker Kelsey (Maggie Grace) has feelings for him, he dumps Devon under the guise of self exploration and gives a relationship with Kelsey a go, only to find out that *shock horror* Kelsey has flaws that immediately send him running back to Devon. Plot twist; Devon has moved to Paris for some self exploration of her own and so Quinn must embark on an international mission to win her back.
Cue a series of romantic mishaps, misfired jokes and a culture barrier that may have just increased somewhat. The notion that Devon, a seemingly cultured, intelligent and reasonable woman, would even debate going back to Quinn is so implausible that it lowers the tone of the movie in considering it.
When a romantic comedy cannot offer you a character to root for, let alone a central couple, it’s likely that the film has not been successful in its initial goals. A horrible look at modern relationships; this is not a Friday night date movie.
[usr=2] WE’LL NEVER HAVE PARIS has no scheduled cinema release date at present.
