Watch My Best Friend For Free

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

François (Daniel Auteuil) is a successful antique dealer, in business with his partner Catherine (Julie Gayet). At a birthday party the topic is broached that François has no friends. He becomes defensive about it and says that he does have friends. Catherine is dubious and bets him that within ten days he cannot prove to her that he has a best friend. If Catherine wins the bet, François will have to give over his interest in an expensive urn. That is the premise that sets the rest of the movie in motion. François contacts old acquaintances, thinking that they might attest to being a good friend, but to no avail. And so on.There are a couple of major flaws in this story. First off, either you have a close friend or you don't and, if you don't, you are not going to find one in ten days. Secondly, Auteuil, in appearance and behavior, simply cannot play a person high enough on the a**hole scale to be as friendless as he is presented to be. But, there would not be a movie this lighthearted if François is alone and rejected in the end, so coincidence has him meeting a rather sociable taxi driver, Bruno; from there things progress to the inevitable ending with some speed bumps thrown in along the way. The efforts for a feel-good ending border on fantasy. But the whole affair is agreeable enough, a strong point being a good cast. I particularly liked Julie Gayet. And, if you do want something a little deeper out of this, you can examine your own situation vis-a-vis friends. Can you distinguish between good friends, acquaintances, associates, people you see often? Do you have any relatives that you consider friends? Do you have an obvious best friend who is definitely more than a good friend? What does having a best friend mean to you? Stretching the definition of "best," do you have more than one friend you would put in the category of best friend? Does the whole concept of categorizing friends something you have thought about, or do you even reject that very idea?

There is no wonder that François (Daniel Auteuil) doesn't have any friends. He arranges to see an antique with the widow at a man's funeral. He can't even wait a respectable time. He only thinks of himself when he overbids on a Greek vase with the gallery's money.His partner Catherine (Julie Gayet), who he didn't even know was a lesbian, bets he has no friends. She bets the vase and gives him 10 days to produce a friend.He quickly finds out that no one likes him.Auteuil was fantastic in last night's The Closet, and he has the same hound dog expression in this film. He was boring in that film; here he is just self centered. He even resorts to Dial-a-Friend.He resorts to getting lessons from a cabbie, Bruno Bouley (Dany Boon), who makes friends easily, but he even blows that, his one chance at friendship.He makes up for it secretly, and the two end up as friends.Writer/director Patrice Leconte had a great film, and I certainly want to see more of his work.

This film is about a wealthy antique dealer who does not know what friendship is. Due to a bet, he has to find a best friend in 10 days."Mon Meilleur Ami" is a beautiful film. The portrayal of François Coste is realistically unlikable. His social inaptness is very funny, and his search for friendship is hilarious. The humour is subtle but it works well. Bruno, a normally bright and sociable guy, has moments that he becomes paralysed by anxiety. Dany Boon plays his part very well, especially towards the end when he is on stage. He is likable, giving off a positive and almost irresistible charm. I feel so sorry for him as I feel he could have achieved so much more with his knowledge.The friendship between them is portrayed in a realistic and humane manner, which viewers will have no problems relating to. For the ending, everything falls into place and I feel very touched by it. To see all the closure and forgiveness is very satisfying. I enjoyed watching "Mon Meilleur Ami" a lot.

I just want to mention that the expensive Greek vase in this delightful comedy is supposed to have contained the tears of a man grieving the death of his friend 500 years before our era (500 B.C.) When the sensitive friend (cab driver) is duped into stealing it from its owner to prove he is really a friend who would even commit an illegal act so that the owner can collect the insurance money, he breaks the vase when he sees it has simply been a set-up so that the Daniel Auteil character can win his bet. And the duped friend then says something like - where are the tears - I seen none.By the way, the vase was purchased for over 200,000 Euros or about 300,000 dollars after the main character sees very few people at a colleague's funeral - which he only basically attends because he wants to finalize a deal with the widow....As it turns out, the vase was switched by the lesbian gallery owner and partner, so all turns out well in the end.The French version of Who Wants To Be a Millionnaire is brilliantly crafted at the climactic end to this movie.The theme of friendship is well-done. Here is a man who tries to prove that he has real friends in life outside the big money deals he makes in his job as an antique dealer. He fails until the very end when he finally shows compassion for another.