First and foremost I have to address the fact that I think the term "cougar" is totally and completely idiotic. Just because a woman persues and dates a younger man doesn't make her a predator, when older men date younger women, they don't associate some animal related name to them. Anyway, that leads me Michelle Pfeiffer's stellar performance as an older courtesan who falls into a relationship with a much younger man, the eponymous Chéri (a nickname given to him by Pfeiffer who has known him when he was a child- which means my darling or sweetheart) played to perfection by Rupert Friend. The film starts near the end of The Belle Epoque in Paris, as their relationship continues to cause controversy. Kathy Bates plays Cheri's mother and one of Pfieffer's greatest former rivals, with divine hilarity, I couldn't wait to hear what preposterous yet mildly scathing thing she'd say next.
The performances, the costumes, the art direction, okay everything in this movie was positively splendid and I simply cannot say enough wonderful things about. I only wish Toby Kebbel had a a larger role. It's delightful, fun and incredibly wicked and poignant when you least expect to be. Based on the novels Chéri and La Fin du Chéri by Colette. Academy Award winning writer Christopher Hampton has done fine job making Colette's witty words accessible for English speaking audiences, while Academy Award nominated director Stephen Frears has done supberd job at guiding his cast. Go see this movie if you can or wanted to be intelectually delighted but still entertained.
My rating: 9.1/10
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