Kevin Kline as a Frenchman, and Meg Ryan as ... the Meg Ryan character. Perfect? Eh, not really. But it's charming nonetheless, and occasionally quite sexy. This is another movie I thought made an interesting pair with Roman Holiday. This is kind of a bizarro Roman Holiday, where instead of the characters mostly having fun together and reluctantly parting, these characters have mostly ... not-fun together, but it turns out to be enjoyable in its own way, and naturally it forces them to realize their feelings for each other.
French Kiss Meg Ryan is Kate, a teacher who is engaged to Charlie (Timothy Hutton), and everything in her life is falling neatly into place. Until Charlie goes to France and meets a "goddesse," prompting him to call off the wedding. Kate, despite her intense fear of flying, boards a plane to France to get him back, and on the flight she meets Luc (Kevin Kline). Luc is a petty thief who is smuggling a diamond necklace and a grape vine into the country, and he hides these items in Kate's bag to get them through customs. The bag is stolen, and soon Kate and Luc are driving/walking/train-riding all over France, helping each other out, getting on each other's nerves, and of course falling in love.
When people think of a Meg Ryan romantic comedy, two leading men will spring to mind - Billy Crystal and Tom Hanks. These two men have a very different kind of chemistry with Ryan, and they bring out different things in her that we all love, but Kline is a very interesting match for her as well. Luc-Kate is probably a closer match to Harry-Sally, but Luc-Kate is an even more antagonistic relationship, and (in a way) more fun, I think. Ryan gets to play off the stereotypical American hatred of the French, and Kline gives it right back with a perfect French sneer (and not too bad a French accent).
Most romantic comedies have a satisfying resolution, but this one has an especially satisfying one, in my opinion. Kate gets what she deserves from Charlie, as well as what she ultimately decides that she wants.
There are some cheesy bits in this, I won't deny it (I can't stand the last few lines, for instance), and there are some small things that bug me, but I really, really love this movie.
Memorable Moments in Dialogue:
Kate: What about you? The old bull back in business?
Luc: Olé.
"Awwww!" Moment: That thing Kate does for Luc at the end.