Molière, a down-and-out actor-cum-playwright up to his ears in debt. When the wealthy Jourdain offers to cover that debt so that Molière's theatrical talents might help Jourdain win the heart of a certain widowed marquise, hilarity ensues.
Woefully miscast as the seminal 17th-century French farceur Moliere, the intense, black-maned young French movie star Romain Duris never seems more comfortable than the brief moments when he's rotting in a dank jail.
– Geoff Pevere,
Toronto Star,
10 Aug 2007
fresh:
Like the playwright's comedies, at its best Moliere shows the depths beneath the archetypes.
– Carrie Rickey,
Philadelphia Inquirer,
16 Aug 2007
rotten:
Lost in the exercise is any insight into Moliere's writing or any relevance to today, making his achievements seem more frivolous -- and considerably less amusing -- than they actually were.
– Peter Debruge,
Miami Herald,
17 Aug 2007
fresh:
An extravagant and thoroughly irresistible story of intrigue, romance, comedy and artistic inspiration.
– Ann Hornaday,
Washington Post,
23 Aug 2007
rotten:
Director and cowriter Laurent Tirard are clearly under the sway of Shakespeare in Love, but the talented Duris is miscast as the wily Moliere, and Moliere has none of Shakespeare's giddy charm.