Seducing Dr. Lewis

[espi]

So I'm a little late writing this review. Heck, I don't even know if it's in the theaters anymore, but at least you can add it to your NetFlix queue, right?

A few weeks ago my wife and I went to see Seducing Dr. Lewis at my favorite indy movie house. This a French Canadian filrm (french w/ english subtitles) about a tiny fishing village on an island off the coast of Canada. The fishing around this island has pretty much dried up, leaving the once happy and proud fishermen to get by on their government unemployment subsidies. There is hope, the mayor has arranged to have a factory built on the island, but it first requires that they have a village doctor. The problem, is getting a doctor who would want to live in this tiny little village hours away from the Quebec, so the town arranges La Grande Séduction.

A doctor from Quebec is convinced to spend a month on the island, and that's where it all begins. Before the doctor arrives the townspeople find out he loves Cricket, so they arrange a mock Cricket game on the island to impress him. Of course, no one on the island knows how to play cricket, so they all pretend to play positions, and he's impressed with their innovative defense.

Once on the island, the townspeople tap his phone line and listen in on his calls to his girlfriend back in Quebec. From that they learn about his favorite foods, and arrange to have the only restaurant in town serve his favorite dish on his first night. The people also try to impress him by watching cricket, but turning the station to hockey when he's out of the room. When the doctor wants to try fishing, and they realize he's terrible at it, a frozen fish is attached to his hook, and he's told that it must have been caught from very deep where the water is very cold. When they find out the doctor has a foot fetish they arrange for all the women in town to walk around barefooted. Every night on his way home from the restaurant the doctor finds money on the ground under a decorative troll. Everything is arranged to make the doctor fall in love with the town, of course it doesn't hurt that he develops a major crush on one of the local townswomen.

The borrow from the review on NPR, the best part of the movie is that it gives exactly what it advertises: and unpretentious comedy that just about anyone can enjoy. The movie is hilarious, we found ourselves laughing outloud with rest of the theater on many, many occassions. The acting is pretty good, and all of the characters are likable and developed. The movie also has a surreal Amelie-likefeel in many scenes which adds to the seduction.

I couldn't find too many flaws with this film. It's possible it may be the perfect movie, and would probably be great as a date film.

[Booray]

thanks for the recommendation. sounds interesting. too bad it's not playing anywhere here. hopefully it'll show up at one of the arthouse cinemas here some time in the future.