Now, I know what you’re thinking, you’ve been waiting for the middle aged women in cardigans go on a holiday road trip movie for years – and in a matter of weeks two come along at once. Well Thelma, Louise and Chantal is no Sex and the City 2 – for a start it’s French, there’s not a whiff of a Prada handbag and there’s definitely not a camel in sight – blimey, Sarah Jessica Fletcher, you say (no typo intended), what have we done to deserve this? Yes, a film with not just one female lead – but there’s 3, is that legal? And it’s quite the threesome. Nelly (Jane Birkin) a sweet frustrated English teacher, Gabrielle (Caroline Cellier) a vampy trampy type and of course Chantal (Catherine Jacob) who has her dead dog in the freezer. Well, where else would it be? It’s summer for the love of god. It’s a simple plot, three friends embark on a trip to attend an ex-loves wedding and the chain of events they encounter on their eccentric road trip change their lives forever. As you would expect, it’s quite the trip – flat tyres, secrets, lies, doing runners from restaurants, utter nonsense, confessions, champagne drinking in the backseat, moments of tenderness and gutsy laughter.
As the title suggests there is a hint of homage to its namesake Thelma and Louise – there’s the Brad Pitt moment, but he turns out to be gay. And of course there’s the cliff scene, but they haven’t killed anyone and they’re not being pursued by the entire law enforcement of the United States of America, so they don’t drive off the cliff at the end. Woopsie, spoiler alert.
It’s not the slickest, big brained, big birded fabulous film in the world and there are fundamental flaws but it genuinely makes your heart go a little bit fuzzy.
Showing @ Cineworld 21st June 18:15 and 22nd June 20:15