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Damn, Audrey Tautou is sexy. In this French romantic comedy, she changes the charge in the air when she enters a room. This is very good for the role she plays. She’s a con woman who seduces rich men and lives off their generosity until she finds a better money source. She gets jewels and clothes and fancy rooms in fancy hotels and they get her. The millionaires are getting a steal.

But who’s not getting a steal is the sleepy waiter Jean (Gad Elmaleh, THE VALET). One night, dressed in a tux, Jean hops behind the bar to mix himself a drink. Tautou’s Irene strolls in and thinks he’s the jackpot. After a hot night in one of the empty hotel rooms, Irene discovers she was slumming it when a shocked family shows up in the morning. But Jean is still smitten and offers to pay for her as well. She humors him by bleeding his savings dry in a few hours.

Having been fired and now with no savings, Jean is at rock bottom with a huge hotel bill due. In a twist of ironic luck, the wealthy widow Madeleine (Marie-Christine Adam) feels sorry for him, pays his bill and invites him to her room. Impressed, Irene decides to teach Jean some tricks of the trade.

Tautou and Elmaleh make for a great duo. As stated at the start, Tautou is radiant. And I have to admit that I rarely notice costuming in contemporary films, but Virginie Montel’s work fits Tautou exquisitely. The dresses slide down Tautou’s body, which oozes sex appeal. When her luck wears out, she has such an innocence to her face that she seems desperately lost. Elmaleh isn’t classically handsome, but he has great charm. When he’s playing the bashful waiter, he’s like a lost puppy dog and when he’s playing the confident gold digger, he’s like a sleek greyhound.

Director Pierre Salvadori developed the script with Benoit Graffin and Franck Bauchard. The structure has more in common with conman tales than romantic comedies. It’s loose to move wherever it wants to go. In doing so, it creates a believable romance. Irene isn’t necessarily uninterested in Jean because he’s poor, but because he’s a wimp. When he learns the ropes of the con game, he comes alive and into his own, which makes his very attractive to Tautou’s con woman. Rom-coms where adversaries become lovers take skill to pull off and Salvadori takes his time to make the switch feel real. Irene’s lessons in cons are their courtship ritual.

Salvador’s work is made easier with the chemistry between his leads. They make for a winning couple. The best part is that at first you think they could never work and by the end you think they’re destined for each other.

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