Demi-Soeur

Broad comedy and a little slapstick ensue. In the end, you’ve got to have a heart harder than a tortoise shell not get a little misty.

If Nenette as a character is more a narrative convenience than a depiction of an actual condition, her permanent childhood does provide the 63-year-old Balasko with an exuberant, unpredictable role. That she continues to make work for herself as both an actress and a director is a good thing, but it would be better if she found a more ambitious writer.

This sentimental French farce unsuccessfully strains for laughs while lurching towards its all too predictable denouement.

French actress-writer-director Josiane Balasko plunges in with all the finesse of a hopped-up Pollyanna, her simplistic interpretation of an impaired sexagenarian coming close to outright parody.

This sickly sweet concoction sets your teeth on edge.

The film indulges in much wannabe-funny wailing, shrieking, and flopping about by Nénette and Paul, only to then lace its buffoonish material with semi-serious undercurrents.