Gérard Depardieu's much-anticipated English language debut was, to some extent, lost in the fuss created by the revelations about his wild youth that appeared around the time of its release. Despite being unoriginal, full of narrative improbabilities and not as funny as it should be, this easy-going comedy from director Peter Weir has undeniable charm and features two engaging performances, with Andie MacDowell winning you over to her initially cold, calculating Manhattanite. Weir is a little heavy-handed with the comic set pieces, but he develops the romance with some care and turns the immigration inquiry into a nail-biting tear-jerker. It's slight and trite, but so what?

Urban horticulturalist Brontë Mitchell has her eye on a gorgeous apartment, but the building's board will rent it only to a married couple. Georges Fauré, a waiter from France whose visa is expiring, needs to marry an American woman to stay in the country. Their marriage of convenience turns into a burden when they must live together to allay the suspicions of the immigration service, as the polar opposites grate on each other's nerves.