William Hazlitt has observed, "There are no rules for friendship. It must be left to itself. We cannot force it any more than love." Some people do not have a gift for making friends. They may be too shy or afraid of intimacy, but often these lonely souls are just too wrapped up in their own concerns and needs to bother with maintaining a friendship. That is the case of the main character in this breezy and whimsical film directed by Patrice Leconte. The story proves that it is not easy to make friends when one has spent a lifetime avoiding people.
Francois (Daniel Auteuil) is a middle-age antique dealer who has his own gallery and a daughter, Louise (Julie Durand), from his estranged marriage. In the opening scene, he attends the funeral of a collector in order to tie down a deal and then goes to an auction and purchases an ancient Greek vase. His business partner, Catherine (Julie Gayet), doesn't understand why he is so obsessed with this relic. At a gathering of his acquaintances on his birthday, Francois learns that none of them considers him a friend: they all find him arrogant, critical, and caught up in his work. He claims they are mistaken and makes a wager with Catherine that he can produce his best friend in ten days. If he doesn't, he must hand over the Greek vase to her.
In desperation, Francois visits another antique dealer and finds out that like the other people in his life, he doesn't consider him a friend. He takes a cab and meets the driver, Bruno (Dany Boon), a compulsive talker who seems to have a way of relating easily to strangers. Francois asks him to tutor him in the social graces. The antique dealer tracks down a childhood friend and finds out that he was hated as a boy for his smugness. Francois then strikes up a friendship with Bruno who, in his own way, is a lonely soul; he lives close to his parents and visits them often. The cab driver is a master mind and for years has been trying to get on a TV show to demonstrate his memory and knowledge.
My Best Friend is the third time Daniel Auteuil has starred in a film by Patrice Leconte: the other two were Girl on the Bridge and The Widow of Saint-Pierre. This veteran actor does a fine job conveying Francois's desperation, once he realizes that his self-absorbed life is quite empty. He does not communicate with his daughter and has little empathy for his loving mistress. His best friend turns out to be his business partner, Catherine. She sets in motion his transformation as he opens his heart and sees the value of what Bruno calls "the three S's — being sociable, smiling and sincere.
Daniel Auteuil again impresses with his ability to make the most of small telling moments in life when a lot more is at stake than seems at first glance.
Special DVD features include "Behind the Scenes Making Of" and Theatrical Trailers
