There were moments in this film that made me think of two films I enjoy very much--"Sideways" and "Before Midnight". The comparisons did the film no favors, however. Rather, they highlighted how much better the other films were.
"Le Weed-End" tells the story of an elderly couple who is returning to Paris, where they took their honeymoon years ago, seemingly in an attempt to rekindle their fading love. For much of its runtime, the film seems aimless. It establishes the characters and their situation effectively, then doesn't seem to go anywhere for a long time. Events happen, of course, but they're all variations on the same theme. Something happens to create a spark between the characters, and they have a few moments of excitement and optimism, but then something else happens and they start to fight again. This happens several times, continuing long after we've gotten the point. Although "Before Midnight" involves a younger couple, it still deals with many of the same themes--the annoyances and resentments that can build up over the years of a romance. "Before Midnight" has a much defter touch, as the conflicts are introduced early and slowly build to a breaking point over the course of the film. It's writing is also both more realistic and emotionally satisfying. "Le Week-End" features some sequences that take away from a feeling of realism, such as one extended scene where the couple tries to escape from a restaurant to avoid paying the check. It's this kind of scene that reminded me of "Sideways", but while similar moments in that film rang true, here they felt like an artificial dramatic device to once again start the characters' love/hate cycle.
It's a big relief about halfway through the film when Jeff Goldblum shows up as an old friend and invites the couple to a party at his place. This gives the characters other people to interact with, breaking the stale cycle. Goldblum himself also brings some much needed energy to the proceedings. His quirky physicality and vocal patterns command your attention. The scenes at his party were the best in the film.
If the first half had been trimmed down significantly, this film would have been much better. It's still not a bad film, but I can't particularly recommend it, either. Jeff Goldblum's work is worth seeing on its own, but going through the first half in order to get to it may be asking too much.
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