“Throwback” . . . . . . . . . . . . “Old Fashioned”
That and more “feel good” than most films of the last few years, Mrs Harris Goes to Paris is as jaunty as its title and just as endearing as you could want in our parlous times. A dramedy set in 1957, it’s done right by writer/director Anthony Fabian and his screenwriters; it earns respect while it entertains in full dress, so to speak.
In ‘50’s London, widowed cleaning lady, Ada (Lesley Manville), dreams of buying a haute couture gown from Dior, and by gum she gets to the Paris headquarters and maneuvers for her dream. Simple enough plot, straight out of the mid-20th century fantasy filmmaking factories. Among the many cheery working-class characters, and a few higher ups, are Ada’s new Parisian friends, most from her affectionate interaction at the House of Dior.
What makes her so appealing is her humility and good cheer, to such a degree that her one kind act when she reaches Dior sets in motion the good things that happen to her, even in the inevitable presence of the bad. Her willingness to pay cash for her gown endears her to the sometimes-stuffy couture staff and converts them to her good will.
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris is a comedy that makes no pretense of being realistic except everyone’s awe, including the audience’s, at the mystique a global name in a snooty profession engenders. Last year’s House of Gucci, while anchored in some dicey family warfare, has the same reverence and not so much comedy.
Along the way in Paris is a Dior accountant, Andre (Lucas Bravo), who looks just like Gregory Peck in 1953’s Roman Holiday (they even ride on his Vespa!). Making less of a romantic lead of Andre, Mrs Harris Goes a long way to democratize the romance (Peck played a journalist to Audrey Hepburn’s royalty) and let us in on the fun. This comedy is after all about commoners having their day.
Isabelle Huppert’s crusty Dior overlord, Claudine Colbert, evokes the stereotype of the uptight bureaucrat. Yes, Mrs Harris wins her over, too. About Christian Dior, our unpretentious heroine says:
“‘e looks like my milkman!”
That about says it all for a light-hearted summer comedy, a throwback to the days when motion pictures made us feel better.
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris
Director: Anthony Fabian (Good Hope)
Screenplay: Fabian et al. from Paul Gallico novel
Cast: Leslie Manville (Secrets and Lies)
Run Time: 1h 55m
Rating: PG
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts NPR’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics as well as podcasts Back Talk and Double Take out of WCBE 90.5 FM. Contact him at JohnDeSando52@gmail.com
