Perhaps as good a definition as any of the expression the triumph of hope over experience is people - and I am one myself - who persist in watching Hollywood remakes of decent French films in spite of tinseltown's abysmal track record in that department. In my case I persist on the theory that sooner or later the Law of Averages HAS to kick in and someone will get it right. Maybe it will... someday. This is definitely not it. The original stars Jean Reno and Christian Claviar (who also co-wrote the original) are as good as we expect them to be but the original premise has been negated by having them wind up in Chicago instead of France. The idea after all is that they are catapulted forward in time to meet their own descendants still in situ on the same land that has been in the family for 800 years, an impossibility with Chicago, New York or anywhere in the New World for that matter. Okay, it is still funny to see Reno throwing food to Claviar in a high-toned restaurant in Chi but one swallow doesn't make a banquet. Nice try, fellas but no cigar.
Review of Just Visiting
