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To me, this movie is perfection.

hyped garbage

Good concept, poorly executed.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

The Patrick Dewaere character is so spineless, shallow and pathetic, that it hard to engage much sympathy for the awkwardness of his position.His wife, Martine, was clearly the dominant member of the original relationship, and Remy seemed no more than a parasite as far as contributing to support the family.Spoiler Warning! After Martine's death, it seemed clear that Remy lacked the strength of character to step up to the responsibilities thrust upon him to provide for and nurture the step-daughter in a positive manner.His allowing himself to be seduced by the step daughter was so predictable because he was portrayed as such a weak cipher of man. In every way, Ariel Besse's Marion is portrayed as both the stronger willed, and more mature character.Remy even gives up his career in a cowardly way when he latches on to a newer lover, who also is a superior talent as a pianist.The way his character, Remy, is portrayed, one feels relieved when Marion discards him...it would be impossible for her not to be able to be able to improve on the spineless clod. And one feels sorry for his "new" lover, to whom the coward isn't even able to inform that he is also a musician. So she invites the parasite into her life, much to this viewer's horror, and the cycle begins again, as a new step-daughter eavesdrops on the sound of her mother's "passion" for this unworthy man.

Yes, I am aware of the fact the rather vulgar and tasteless subject line entirely misfits the overall tone of this film, but when else am I going to have the chance to use this clichéd saying in a review? "Stepfather" is a provocative and mildly controversial "Lolita"-themed drama, but with a healthy sense of humor and extremely likable characters. Britney Spears provided the best one-line plot description imaginable for this film: Not a Girl, Not yet a Woman. After the sudden and accidental death of her mother, beautiful 14-year-old Marion insists on staying with her manic depressed stepfather instead of returning to her natural father. The girl soon openly confesses Rémi she has romantic feelings for him and doesn't really make it a secret that she wants to sleep with him. Rémi tries very hard (honestly, he does) to resist the temptation, but what's a lonely man to do when a scantily clad young gal keeps throwing herself at him and continues to sneak into his bed at night? Most of the – admittedly overlong - film focuses on Rémi fighting, accepting and regretting his own feelings towards Marion, but still the film never really feels boring and there are plenty of neat details to keep you pleased. The narrative, for example, is ingenious as several characters (including Rémi) explain the story whilst facing the camera. He works as unsuccessful pianist in a restaurant and the camera often pans around him as he's narrating his own life with people dining in the background. It's also quite remarkable how the script never reverts to being gratuitous exploitation, even though all the themes hint towards that direction. A truly ravishing and often barely dressed minor literally offers herself at this potent, thirty-something guy, and yet there are no explicit sex sequences or gratuitous insinuations being made. Ariel Besse (16 at the time and a terrific actress) strips fully naked a couple of times, but all the sex & nudity sequences are elegantly presented and not the least bit offensive. Patrick Dewaere is great as well and it was quite a shock to discover he committed suicide shortly after the release of this film. According to several sources, including the IMDb, the actors struggled with depressions and mental torture for years and years. The only consolation he had was that his own mental condition gave an even deeper dimension to his character in "Stepfather". Recommended.

When a woman is killed in a car wreck, she leaves behind a husband and a daughter by an exhusband who become the center of gravity of the film. As the step father and beautiful 14 year old nymphet share their grief under the same roof, the girl reveals an uncommon maturity as she insinuates herself into the step father's life by taking on her mother's responsibilities and demanding her place in his bed. What follows is an unemotional, matter of fact, tastefully presented tale of two people whose familial love morphs into something more as they grapple with all the issues which come with their extraordinary and taboo relationship. "Beau Pere" aims for the head and ricochets off the heat but leaves the crotch alone. Not "Lolita" and not a film about pedophilia or seduction, this flick should be an interesting watch for anyone into films about atypical romantic relationships. (B+)

Patrick Dewaere was a wonderful comic actor (see him in Les Valseuses), while Ariel Besse was rather, er, young. Realistically young. I'd have liked this film even better if I hadn't had to endure the horrible dubbing into English (especially for Ariel Besse's character).