"My Best Friend" "My Best Friend Trailer" - First Look "My Best Friend" - In Theaters July 13, 2007
François is a middle-aged antique dealer. He has a stylish apartment and a fabulous life, but at a dinner with a group he considers his dearest acquaintances, he is blindsided by the revelation that none of them actually likes him. He's arrogant, self-centered and harsh, and they don't believe he knows the meaning of friendship. His business partner Catherine makes him a bet: if he can produce his best friend, she will let him keep the massive Greek vase he acquired that afternoon on the company tab. If not, it's hers.
Having accepted the wager, François naively tears through his address book, trying to shoehorn an increasingly unlikely series of contacts into the all-important role. Moving through Paris, he keeps encountering a trivia-spouting, big-hearted cabbie named Bruno. Bruno's chatty, lowbrow ways grate against François's designer temperament, but he covets the other man's easy way with people. He convinces Bruno to teach him how to make friends and sets about learning the "three S's" - being sociable, smiling and sincere - though they don't come easy. Ultimately, François victory will depend on Bruno's naiveté in playing along, but what's the cost of cheating at friendship?
Patrice Leconte, one of France's most renowned writer-directors, has often explored the theme of friendship in his award-winning films including MAN ON THE TRAIN, INTIMATE STRANGERS and THE HAIRDRESSER'S HUSBAND. He leapt to international attention with the highly praised MONSIEUR HIRE, his ninth feature - but his first drama - and followed it with films known for their wit, swift pace and visual elegance. His other hit films include RIDICULE, THE WIDOW OF SAINT-PIERRE, and the comedies that propelled him as one of France's most talented comedy writers/directors, LES BRONZES and its sequels LES BRONZES FONT DU SKI and LES BRONZES 3: FRIENDS FOR LIFE.
MY BEST FRIEND marks the third time that Daniel Auteuil stars in a film by Patrice Leconte following GIRL ON THE BRIDGE and THE WIDOW OF SAINT-PIERRE. One of France's most beloved and prolific French stars, Auteuil is best known to American audiences for his roles in the recent CACHE by Michael Haneke and the classic Claude Berri films JEAN DE FLORETTE and MANON OF THE SPRING. He has worked with many of France's best directors, including André Techiné (THE THIEVES, MA SAISON PREFEREE,) Patrice Chéreau (QUEEN MARGOT), Claude Sautet (A HEART IN WINTER) and Francis Veber in the current release, THE VALET.
STARRING: Julie Gayet, Daniel Auteuil, Danny Boon, Marine Laporte, Titouan Laporte, Henri Garci, Pierre Aussedat
DIRECTOR: Patrice Leconte
STUDIO: IFC Films
RATING: PG-13 (For language)
