My Best Friend

French comedy starring Daniel Auteuil as middle-aged antique dealer Franois, who, despite being in possession of a stylish apartment and a fabulous life, is staggered to discover that none of the people he considers his closest acquaintances actually likes him. His business partner Catherine (Julie Gayet) makes him a bet: if he can produce his best friend, she will let him keep the valuable Greek vase he acquired that afternoon on the company tab. If not, it’s hers. Having accepted the wager, Franois tears through his address book, trying to shoehorn an increasingly unlikely series of contacts into the all-important role. Moving through Paris, he repeatedly encounters trivia-spouting, big-hearted cabbie Bruno (Dany Boon). Bruno’s chatty, lowbrow ways grate against Franois’s cool designer temperament, but he covets the other man’s easy way with people. He convinces Bruno to teach him how to make friends and sets about learning ‘the three Ss’: being sociable, smiling and sincere – though they don’t come naturally. Ultimately, Franois’s victory will depend on Bruno’s naivet in agreeing to play along. But what is the real cost of cheating at friendship?