Synopsis
A gay young man is recruited into an illicit love triangle to watch a much older man’s sexual liaison, but ends up witnessing what turns out to be his murder. The next day the young man's opera diva mother informs him that his estranged father has been in Paris... until the previous night when he was murdered. Seeking help with a psychiatrist, the young man comes across an eccentric actress who has come totally unhinged by the death of that psychiatrist, the infamous Docteur Rey. At first mistaking her for the doctor, the young man embarks on a madcap mystery, reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel, with Paris as the backdrop.
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Cast
- Dianne WiestElisabeth Beaumont
- Jane BirkinPénélope
- Bulle OgierClaude Sabrié
- Roschdy ZemTaxifahrer
- Jerry HallSybil
- Simon CallowBob
- Vanessa Redgraveherself
- Vernon DobtcheffFrançois
- Didier FlamandKriminalbeamter
- Stanislas MerharThomas Beaumont
Recommendations
- 63
New York Daily News
With a plot laden with mistaken identities, voyeurism, marijuana-laced brownies and even a cameo by Vanessa Redgrave playing herself, "Merci" tries too hard to be madcap. - 50
Los Angeles Times
An elegant Merchant Ivory production, it is too slight and perhaps too precious. But it will be a witty pleasure for admirers of its grande dames: Dianne Wiest, Jane Birkin and Bulle Ogier. - 30
Village Voice
Litvack offers a cameo by Vanessa Redgrave as proof that there's a prestige picture within all this frivolous melodrama. Non, merci. - 30
The Hollywood Reporter
Litvack is lazy with his jokes, characterizations, motives, and plotting. - 30
L.A. Weekly
This is less a coming-out tale than a showcase for late-middle-aged hysterical divas in flowing caftans to yell, scream and ride roughshod over the young homosexuals who are nominally the movie's center. - 30
The New York Times
Strains to be the ne plus ultra of arch, hyper-sophisticated fun, but the laughs are few. - 25
New York Post
Brainless and pointless. - 20
Dallas Observer
Andrew Litvack, whose inability to direct is outweighed only by his inability to write anything remotely witty, enlightening, or engaging. Calling this a farce would be, well, a farce.
