At Middleton, Love is in the Air

Love is in the Air

At Middleton

If you'd told me I'd see two romantic comedies in one day and that the one starring Ludivine Sagnier (on the strength of "Love Crime," perhaps the worst actress working today) would be less cringe-worthy than the one starring Vera Farmiga (one of the best), I'd have taken that bet for any amount of money.

2 Days in New York, Beloved

2 Days in New York

Beloved

After Richard Linklater's "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset," I was sure Julie Delpy - with her highly endearing combination of brains and beauty - was destined for stardom - or at least a long career as the thinking man's leading lady. Instead, she's forged a path for herself as a writer-director, following up her light comedy "2 Days in Paris" with the even lighter "2 Days in New York," co-starring Chris Rock as her put-upon boyfriend. When her "lovably" obnoxious family flies in for an extended visit, she and Rock have nothing to do but alternate between ineffectual frustration, tiresome bickering, and overly precious antics. "2 Days" feels like 2 weeks; it's a fallen soufflé.

"Love Crime": Much More Fun than a Good Movie

Of Ludivine Sagnier's performance in the new howler "Love Crime," let me just say that I have not been so moved by an actress since Pia Zadora in "Butterfly." As a senior executive in the Paris office of an "ago-business" firm, Sagnier looks like a thirteen-year-old girl playing dress-up. Some of the dialogue from the business-world scenes has to be heard to be believed: "I speak for all of us," one male colleague tells Sagnier, "when I say you are the perfect woman."