Up For Love (Un Homme A La Hauteur)

Jean Dujardin, the actor with the thousand-megawatt charisma from ‘The Artist’, is shrunk to 4’ 5” by digital effects to play a short guy in this fluffy, fun French romcom. He is architect Alexandre, who picks up a phone left in a bar by newly single lawyer Diane (Virginie Efira). When the two meet, he’s her perfect match – wildly successful, attractive and super confident without being cocky. With one exception: Alexandre is about 18 inches too short (after a growth hormone deficiency in childhood).

The two start dating but his height is an issue. Diane is terrified to introduce him to her ex husband – out of a mix of embarrassment and fear that he will humiliate Alexandre. There’s an interesting-ish gender politics angle here. It’s no longer okay for a man to say he likes a girl with bit of an arse. But what about a woman saying she likes her Prince Charming fairytale tall and strong? But ‘Up For Love’ is a French romcom, so it has no place for feminism. There is a message here about celebrating differences, which would be a bit more convincing if they’d cast a smaller actor in the role – instead of using distracting CG effects on Dujardin.