The art of the sex comedy has been lost in recent years, it seems – in America, at least. But this year, the French Canadians are bringing it back with a bullet.
“Two Women,” directed by Chloé Robichaud with a screenplay by Catherine Léger, is a modern update of the 1970 Canadian sex comedy “Two Women in Gold,” and takes its exploration of middle-aged, suburban malaise to charmingly comedic heights.
The film stars Karine Gonthier-Hyndman and Laurence Leboeuf as Florence and Violette, two nextdoor neighbors who find they have more in common than they initially thought – namely, that they are stuck in sexless marriages. The reasons for their respective lack of sex lives, however, are different. Violette’s husband Benoit (Félix Moati) is spending his numerous “business trips” having an affair with young, hot, and edgy Eli (Juliette Gariépy), leaving Violette alone with their newborn baby. And Florence’s partner David (Mani Soleymanlou) is too worried about Florence’s mental state to have time for sex in the first place.
But after a misunderstanding in which Violette confronts Florence about all the sex Florence must be having (Violette swears she can hear her through the wall. Florence has no idea what she’s talking about), Florence finally breaks, taking Violette with her. As both women begin a series of affairs, “Two Women” humorously explores the breaking points of relationships, and how we either choose to come back from the brink or not.
Both Gonthier-Hyndman and Leboeuf deliver stellar comedic performances that capture the odd couple quality of their friendship. Because Florence and Violette don’t necessarily seem like they should be friends. Florence, who swears off the antidepressants that lower her libido at the beginning of the film (when worried David brings up the fact that without them, she once almost threw herself in front of a car, she responds: “I know it looked pathetic from the outside, but from the inside, it was fun!”), is like a freight train. She bulldozes her way through a myriad of cable installation guys and plumbers to find the satisfaction she needs, flashing unsuspecting construction workers and doing it all without an ounce of regard for anyone’s pleasure but her own. Violette is a little more timid, her first sexual encounter with an exterminator playing out almost romantically.
The interplay between Violette and Florence is where “Two Women” really finds its comedic stride. Gonthier-Hyndman and Leboeuf slide seamlessly into rhythm with each other, a pitter-patter type banter to their back and forth, which is filled with sleight of hand wordplay and euphemisms galore.
All of that humor is aimed at the idea that we shouldn’t accept a mediocre relationship just because we think that’s the way life goes. Benoit and David are willing to accept stasis – to accept the idea that their attractions to their wives will naturally wane as they age, and their attractions to younger women will grow. “What’s with you girls,” David says at one point, exhausted. “Can’t you just be normal?” But Florence and Violette refuse to accept this idea as a given – or, at least refuse to accept the part of it where they don’t get to have their own fun. Maybe they sometimes take that too far – “The more I accept the futility of my life, the more I love being alive,” says Florence, who, at one point, cuts herself across the wrist to prove to Violette that killing yourself isn’t as easy as it looks in the movies. But “Two Women” paints a charmingly zany portrait of women unwilling to stick to the status quo.
If “Two Women” fails in any sense, it doesn’t do quite enough in the case of one of our central couples to believably spur them towards their end point. But the potent combination of charm and chaos that pervades the two leads is more than enough to keep you entertained.
“Two Women” is available to rent on numerous digital platforms.
