Choice: Film

David Benedict
Wednesday 25 March 1998 19:02 EST
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Ridicule, Arnolfini, Bristol (0117-929 9191) 8.45pm

A rural landlord infiltrates the court of Louis XVI at Versailles to appeal for the funds to drain his mosquito-infested acres. Not the most promising premise for a film comedy, but stick with it. In order to win his suit, our hero has to learn the rules of court behaviour which are exquisitely refined and deeply cruel, the last distinction being the mercilessness of your rapier-like wit. With the beginner's proverbial good luck, he takes to it with zest and aplomb, involving himself with the charms of not only the mature and buxom Fanny Ardant, but also of the absurdly pneumatic Judith Godreche of whom the French would say, "Elle a du monde au balcon". It has none of the trappings of the Crabtree and Evelyn school of period film-making, indeed the settings and period are almost incidental. On top of which, the cast are so gorgeous that absolutely everybody will fancy someone in it.

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