''Romantics Anonymous'' (french: Les Émotifs anonymes) is a 2010 French-Belgian

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Jean-Pierre Améris Jean-Pierre Améris (born 26 July 1961) is a French film director and screenwriter. His film ''Lightweight'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival The 57th Cannes Film Festival started on 12 and ran unt ...

and starring

Benoît Poelvoorde Benoît Poelvoorde (, ; born 22 September 1964) is a Belgian actor and comedian. Early life His mother was a grocer and his father a driver, who died when Poelvoorde was still a minor. He attended the Jesuit Boarding School of Godinne before ...

and

Isabelle Carré Isabelle Carré (born 28 May 1971) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than 70 films since 1989. She won a César Award for Best Actress for her role in '' Se souvenir des belles choses'' (2001), and has been nominated a further six ti ...

. It received three nominations at the

2nd Magritte Awards The 2nd Magritte Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie André Delvaux, honored the best films of 2011 in Belgium and took place on February 4, 2012, at the Square in the historic site of Mont des Arts, Brussels beginning at 7:45 p.m. CE ...

, winning Best Foreign Film in Coproduction.

Plot

Angélique is a young French woman who suffers from social anxiety disorder and is afraid of just about everything. She regularly attends a support group for other people like her. Jean-René, who owns a small manufacturer of chocolate called the Chocolate Mill, also suffers from social anxiety, and is afraid of many things, particularly intimacy. The Chocolate Mill is failing because it makes a plain, old-fashioned kind of chocolate that no longer sells well. Angélique had attended pastry school to fulfill her dream of becoming a chocolate maker. However, her anxiety prevented her from being able to answer questions or write exams. Luckily, a fellow sufferer of social anxiety disorder, Mr. Mercier, hired her to make chocolates for his tearoom and shop, Mercier Sweetshop. For Angélique to remain anonymous, Mr. Mercier told his customers that the chocolates were made by a hermit who lived in seclusion in the mountains. She thrived there for seven years. When Mr. Mercier dies, Angélique applies for a job at the Chocolate Mill. Due to some misunderstandings, Jean-René hires her as a sales representative. When Angélique realizes that the company will go bankrupt if they do not improve the quality of their chocolate, she helps the other employees in making a new line of chocolate, claiming she has a way to communicate with the hermit chocolate maker. At the same time, Angélique and Jean-René fall in love, but have substantial difficulties expressing their feelings and developing their relationship due to their fears and anxieties. In the meantime, the other Chocolate Mill employees grow suspicious about Angélique's "connection" with the famous secret chocolate maker. Ultimately, with a little help from the other Chocolate Mill employees and Angélique's support group, Angélique is revealed as the hermit chocolate maker, and the Chocolate Mill becomes successful. Jean-René and Angélique finally consummate their relationship. The couple find an alternative way of coping with the stresses of wedding and remain together forever after.

Cast

as Jean-René Van Den Hugde *

as Angélique Delange *

Lorella Cravotta Lorella Cravotta (born 9 April 1958) is a French comedian and actress. She is best known for her role in the cult TV series '' Les Deschiens'' (1993–2002), in which she appears alongside Yolande Moreau Yolande Moreau (born 27 February 19 ...

as Magda *

Jacques Boudet Jacques Boudet (born 29 December 1939) is a French stage and screen actor. He had great success in the 1980s with his appearance in '' Exercises in Style'', and is featured in the film '' The Names of Love'' (2010). In cinema, he frequently a ...

as Rémi * Pierre Niney as Ludo * Alice Pol as Adèle *

Lise Lamétrie Lise may refer to: People *Eliseo Nicolás Alonso (known as Lise; 1955–2012), Spanish woodcarver and sculptor *Claude Lise (born 1941), French politician from Martinique Given name Lise is a variant of the given name Lisa *Lise de Baissac, Mau ...

as Suzanne * Swann Arlaud as Antoine *

Philippe Laudenbach Philippe Laudenbach (born 31 January 1936) is a French actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films since 1963. Career Nephew of Pierre Fresnay (born Peter Laudenbach), Philippe is formed to the French National Academy of Dramatic Arts. He ...

as The jury president * Stéphan Wojtowicz as The psychologist

Reception

The film has been positively received by critics and holds a rating of 86% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. Romantics Anonymous is a real-life help group that helps people with sometimes debilitating shyness. Jean-Pierre Améris, a highly emotional person himself, who attended real EA (

Emotions Anonymous Emotions Anonymous (EA) is a twelve-step program for recovery from mental and emotional illness. there were approximately 300 Emotions Anonymous groups active in the United States and another 300 around the world. History Marion Flesch (July ...

) meetings, and Isabelle Carré had talked about making a movie about their shared shyness. As preparation for the movie, Isabelle Carré also attended EA meetings. Retrieved on 4 November 2012

Stage musical adaptation

A stage musical based on the film was adapted and directed by Emma Rice with music by Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond. The musical premiered at the

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is an indoor theatre forming part of Shakespeare's Globe, along with the Globe Theatre on Bankside, London. Built making use of 17th-century plans for an indoor theatre, the playhouse recalls the layout and style of th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

from 20 October 2017, running until 6 January 2018.

References

External links

* * * * {{Philippe Godeau 2010 films Belgian romantic comedy films 2010s French-language films 2010 romantic comedy films Films directed by Jean-Pierre Améris Magritte Award winners Pan-Européenne films French romantic comedy films French-language Belgian films 2010s French films