Perfect Strangers

Perfect Strangers is an excellent conversational film built on a simple yet original idea escalated by some surprising twists. True, Woody Allen or Roman Polanski would have given it the unique poetics of a great filmmaker, but can’t we do without that? The success of the conventional form is all the more appreciated when it is due “only” to the right cast, brisk pace and striking socially significant moments. The call from the 17-year-old daughter is the emotional, human peak of the film, while the earrings scene is the best moment of the film’s comical side. And there is a nice ending in the style of La La Land. I think an American remake, which would get a rating of about 68% on this website, is more than likely (with Bateman, Sudeikis, Vergara et al?). (05/05/2017)

Hypocrisy is a trait possessed by almost everyone who dines together in this movie. What seems to be fun at the beginning changes with time into a brutal emotional ride that just doesn’t end. An exemplary premise reflecting the present times where people cannot live without their smartphones and while walking at the sidewalk, they spend more time looking at their screens than that sidewalk. With this dialogue-based movie the Italians did the best they could. (02/10/2018)

I was reminded of the dialogue from the sitcom Black Books: "Do you remember who all was at that dinner?" "I don't. Him and his friends. You know, the sort of people who talk about salad for five hours." Which indirectly captures the problem with Perfect Strangers. I didn't care about the characters. With one bright exception, it's just a bland gathering of upper-middle-class Italian hypocrites whose standard topics are food, drink, vacations, health, and each other's relationships. What then happens to these two-legged Elle catalogues as a result of their own boredom and disenchantment is truly irrelevant. So what can you do with them. Moreover, the whole thing is really just a stage play, with the film format bringing absolutely nothing extra to the table. For a truly bitter tragicomedy that can work formally within the limited space of a single apartment, I'd instead invite you to join the Hajdu family party in It's Not the Time of My Life. (07/28/2017)

How much do we really know about our loved ones? And how much do we even want to know about them? At first glance, Perfect Strangers is an ordinary conversational piece with an imaginative primary impulse that slowly but surely crystallizes from an initial childish game to a dense drama in which each successive message or phone call can turn the supposed reality one hundred and eighty degrees. Each new revelation tries to trump the last, and the hypocrite of the year contest is in full swing. The film offers some surprising and emotionally powerful moments (the old men on the balcony), but the biggest surprise comes at the end. Chillingly humorous to the point of being humorously chilling! (03/21/2020)

A very current subject treated in a very likeable way through a conversational dramedy that can be very urgent at times, but also maintains an evaluative distance through a number of light elements and deliberately exaggerated escalation. The final twist may not be worth thinking about or taking seriously in relation to the overall message, but I really enjoyed the course of the film, got to know the characters very quickly, and it flashed a minimal warning light in my head that I've seen this before somewhere else... 75% (02/19/2017)