Chicago – “Cheri” could be confused with an updated adaptation of a Jane Austen novel if its characters weren’t so comfortable with what goes on between the sheets. Like players in many stuffy costume dramas, they wear the best clothes, live in lavishly decorated homes and speak their perfect grammar in posh accents. But since they aren’t sexually repressed, they do it all with a little bounce in their step.
DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0
The story, taken from a few novels by Colette, takes place in early-twentieth century France, and it would appear that even in those days, people in that part of the world made members of other cultures look like a bunch of prudes. A woman like Michelle Pfeiffer’s Lea de Lonval, for example, could not only make a career out of prostitution without seeming the least bit trashy. She could come home to a tasteful estate where...
DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0
The story, taken from a few novels by Colette, takes place in early-twentieth century France, and it would appear that even in those days, people in that part of the world made members of other cultures look like a bunch of prudes. A woman like Michelle Pfeiffer’s Lea de Lonval, for example, could not only make a career out of prostitution without seeming the least bit trashy. She could come home to a tasteful estate where...
- 10/14/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Sex is in the air, what with Governor Sanford going Awol for a cruise with his Argentine hottie (joining the club of Republicans with conservative mouths and liberal dicks). Which brings me to Cheri, Stephen Frears's new film about courtesans of the Belle Epoque who parlayed sexual savoir faire into hefty fortunes. Adapted from Colette's eponymous novel, the film follows the affair of Lea de Lonval (Michelle Pfeiffer), a retired, luscious courtesan in her fifty's, and Cheri (Rupert Friend), the exquisite, wanton son of a rival demimondaine (Kathy Bates). At fifty-one Michelle Pfeiffer is roughly the same age as Lea. So we could be forgiven for hoping that here at last was an Anglo-Saxon breakthrough flick with a middle-aged woman as object of desire. But in fact, we've been cheated. Except for a final shot...
- 6/29/2009
- by Erica Abeel
- Huffington Post
Multiple Oscar nominee Stephen Frears is a tough nut to crack. Amiable but terse, his excellent multilayered films do the talking for him, from his first collaboration with Christopher Hampton and Michelle Pfeiffer on 1998's Dangerous Liaisons to 2007's The Queen. In his latest film, Cheri (read Cinematical's review here), Frears turns his lens onto the cloistered and often duplicitous world of wealthy courtesans. Frears' films often focus on subversive outsiders who must make their own "family," as it were, such as Dirty Pretty Things, The Grifters, and My Beautiful Laundrette. But Cheri's delicious spin on sex, love, and aging is typical of its source material from author Colette, whose books Cheri and The Last of Cheri present a world of upside-down relationships and self-sufficient, frankly sexual women.
Michelle Pfeiffer leads the cast as the stunning Lea de Lonval, a famous courtesan whose friend Madame Peloux, played with busty abandon by Kathy Bates,...
Michelle Pfeiffer leads the cast as the stunning Lea de Lonval, a famous courtesan whose friend Madame Peloux, played with busty abandon by Kathy Bates,...
- 6/27/2009
- by Jenni Miller
- Cinematical
The French writer Colette, born Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873 - 1954), lived one of those witty, charming lives you've read about, doing things like performing at the Moulin Rouge and having affairs with Josephine Baker, while marrying several rich husbands. She wrote, among many other things, what would become the famous musical Gigi, which Director Vincente Minnelli turned into a dull, immobile Oscar-winning hit in 1958. The English film director Stephen Frears would have been 13 when Colette died, though at that age, he had most likely never heard of her. But now, 55 years later, the two have teamed up for the new movie Cheri, based on Collete's 1920 novel about a passionate affair between an aging courtesan and a spoiled younger man.
Frears seems like the right man for the job. After all, his similarly sexy costume drama Dangerous Liaisons (1988) was another Oscar-winning hit. And in his Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) he dealt with issues of...
Frears seems like the right man for the job. After all, his similarly sexy costume drama Dangerous Liaisons (1988) was another Oscar-winning hit. And in his Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) he dealt with issues of...
- 6/27/2009
- by Jeffrey M. Anderson
- Cinematical
It's such a pleasure to watch Michelle Pfeiffer hold the screen in a way she hasn't for far too long that one can almost forgive Cheri its flaws. Almost. Based on novels by Colette, Cheri reunites Pfeiffer with director Stephen Frears and writer Christopher Hampton, with whom she worked on Dangerous Liaisons two decades ago. The story is set 150 years later, but the subject is the same: love, lust and the manipulation of both in the name of personal power. Pfeiffer plays Lea de Lonval, a rich, aging Paris courtesan during La Belle Epoque. Enriched by past lovers, she agrees to take the son of a friend -- another wealthy courtesan (Kathy Bates) -- to the south of France to get him away from bad influences in Paris. The boy, known as Cheri (Rupert Friend), is only 19, though he's already developed...
- 6/26/2009
- by Marshall Fine
- Huffington Post
Stephen Frears burst on the scene in 1985 with his cheeky "My Beautiful Laundrette," igniting a winning streak that included "Prick Up Your Ears," "Dangerous Liaisons," "The Grifters" and "The Queen." Though famously hard to pigeonhole, the genre-spanning filmmaker gravitates toward folks struggling on the social margins or engaged in emotional gamesmanship. Frears is also, famously, a royal pain to interview. He almost defies you to extract responses from him, looking simultaneously gleeful and contrite, so you somehow empathize with him. In a sit-down for his new film "Cheri," he was reliably armored -- perhaps because his antennae are exquisitely attuned to pick up what he might call a "dodgy" reaction to his latest project.
More than two decades after "Liaisons," "Cheri" reunites Frears with ace screenwriter Christopher Hampton and Michelle Pfeiffer. Set in Belle Époque Paris, the saucy tragicomedy centers on the sumptuous world of courtesans -- demimondaines -- banned from polite society,...
More than two decades after "Liaisons," "Cheri" reunites Frears with ace screenwriter Christopher Hampton and Michelle Pfeiffer. Set in Belle Époque Paris, the saucy tragicomedy centers on the sumptuous world of courtesans -- demimondaines -- banned from polite society,...
- 6/26/2009
- by Erica Abeel
- ifc.com
Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend in Cheri
Photo: Miramax Films Stephen Frears reteams with his Dangerous Liaisons (1988) screenwriter Christopher Hampton and supporting actress Michelle Pfeiffer for Cheri, an adaptation of two novels from Colette, the famed French author whose novel also spawned the 1959 Best Picture winner Gigi. To say expectations for this film were high would be an understatement considering the source material, the three Oscars Liaisons won back in 1989 and the anticipated hope we may see Pfeiffer step back into Oscar-worthy form. Liaisons was the first of three Oscar nominations for Pfeiffer and while her turn here as an aging courtesan of the belle epoque is tasty, it is Rupert Friend as the title character that steals the show in a film that doesn't live up to expectation, but is entirely enjoyable. In describing my feelings for this film to a friend that missed the press screening I found...
Photo: Miramax Films Stephen Frears reteams with his Dangerous Liaisons (1988) screenwriter Christopher Hampton and supporting actress Michelle Pfeiffer for Cheri, an adaptation of two novels from Colette, the famed French author whose novel also spawned the 1959 Best Picture winner Gigi. To say expectations for this film were high would be an understatement considering the source material, the three Oscars Liaisons won back in 1989 and the anticipated hope we may see Pfeiffer step back into Oscar-worthy form. Liaisons was the first of three Oscar nominations for Pfeiffer and while her turn here as an aging courtesan of the belle epoque is tasty, it is Rupert Friend as the title character that steals the show in a film that doesn't live up to expectation, but is entirely enjoyable. In describing my feelings for this film to a friend that missed the press screening I found...
- 6/26/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Michelle Pfeiffer is beautiful in any era, but give her a slim-silhouetted petticoat and pre-Raphaelite curls, and she's even more elegant than usual. Throw in a sexy young paramour (in this case, Rupert Friend), a reunion with the director (Stephen Frears) and writer (Christopher Hampton) of Dangerous Liaisons, and you've got a movie! Cheri, to be exact, based on two seminal books by the fascinating French author Colette (Gigi). The film, which opens this Friday (June 26) marks a triumphant return for Pfeiffer-as-leading-lady. Read more about Cheri here, but in the meantime, here's the roundtable interview with Pfeiffer, presented in its entirety. What drew you to this film, apart from working with Stephen Frears again? Well that was a big draw. I was thrilled - thrilled - when I got the call from Stephen. Honestly, I would do the phone book with him. And I was of course thrilled and delighted when I read it,...
- 6/24/2009
- TribecaFilm.com
In Cheri, Michelle Pfeiffer reunites with the writer (Christopher Hampton) and director (Stephen Frears) of Dangerous Liaisons (1988) for another romp through the sexual mores and social terrain of an earlier period. In this case, it's 1906 in Paris, and Pfeiffer is Lea de Lonval, an aging-but-still-stunningly-beautiful courtesan confronting her future as a woman of a certain age. Fortunately, she has the luxury of a fortune amassed over several decades: a reward for her smart business acumen, her fierce independence - quite rare for women of the time - and her obvious skill in the seduction and pleasure of men. Cheri is an amplification of the rich details found in two seminal short novels by the French writer Colette (herself a liberated woman of a certain age), in which courtesans are in a social class of their own. Educated, wealthy, and elegant, yet not invited to mix socially with the rest of the riche,...
- 6/24/2009
- TribecaFilm.com
Christopher Hampton could be considered the king of adaptations, having brought the words of writers as varied as Graham Greene, Ian McEwan, and now Colette to the screen. He won an Oscar last time he wrote a screenplay for director Stephen Frears, 1988's Dangerous Liaisons, and now he's working with Frears again on Cheri. At last weekend's press junket for the movie, we asked Hampton about his process of translating a book as sexy and specific as Colette's Cheri, which tells the story of an affair between an aging courtesan and her friend's young son in glamorous turn-of-the-century Paris. I'll bring you our roundtable talk with Hampton, but first he talked about a few of his upcoming projects, including a new screenplay of John Steinbeck's East of Eden for director Tom Hooper, and plans to bring last fall's New York stage version of The Seagull-- starring Kristin Scott Thomas,...
- 6/23/2009
- cinemablend.com
There's one kind of escapism available in movie theaters this weekend, the kind involving giant robots and explosions. But for something a little more elegant, a little more intricate, and even a little sexier, there's also Cheri, a new drama from The Queen director Stephen Frears that stars Michelle Pfeiffer as a turn-of-the-century French courtesan who starts a scandal-making relationship with a much younger man. The film, set in France's Belle Epoque, is gorgeous to look at not just because of the ridiculously attractive cast (relative newcomer Rupert Friend is close competition with Pfeiffer for the beauty prize), but also the sumptuous costumes and production design. To give you an idea of all that went into recreating the world of Colette's novel Cheri, which has been dutifully adapted for the screen, we've got an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette about the making of the film. Michelle Pfeiffer talks about the enduring...
- 6/23/2009
- cinemablend.com
Click image below to view full poster
Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Chéri, which stars Michelle Pfeiffer as a seductress who knows exactly which buttons to push and when. The film also features a Dangerous Liaisons reunion, with not only Pfeiffer in the lead, but Stephen Frears directed and Christopher Hampton wrote the screenplay. The film, which is based on the novels by Colette and is set in 1920s Paris, follows the son of a courtesean who retreats into a fantasy world after he's forced to end his relationship with the older woman who seduced and educated him in the ways of love.
Sounds to me like Pfeiffer belongs in the running for Cougar of the Year, and that's just fine by me -- it's always a pleasure to watch the gal let her hair down and take on a more sensual role. In my opinion, we...
Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Chéri, which stars Michelle Pfeiffer as a seductress who knows exactly which buttons to push and when. The film also features a Dangerous Liaisons reunion, with not only Pfeiffer in the lead, but Stephen Frears directed and Christopher Hampton wrote the screenplay. The film, which is based on the novels by Colette and is set in 1920s Paris, follows the son of a courtesean who retreats into a fantasy world after he's forced to end his relationship with the older woman who seduced and educated him in the ways of love.
Sounds to me like Pfeiffer belongs in the running for Cougar of the Year, and that's just fine by me -- it's always a pleasure to watch the gal let her hair down and take on a more sensual role. In my opinion, we...
- 5/15/2009
- by Erik Davis
- Cinematical
Hooray! It’s an older woman-younger man romance. Or sex romp, at least. It’s based on the naughty novels by turn-of-the-20th-century French author Colette, so perhaps it will be free of the bizarre hangups we seem to have developed about sex in our pop culture in the last quarter of the 20th century and into today. Such as that women over 30 -- like Michelle Pfeiffer -- can’t be sexy, or that they are never interested in pretty young boys, like Rupert Friend. Oh, and it’s from Stephen Frears, so I do expect this will be very good. Cheri is now playing in the U.K.; it opens in the U.S. on June 26.
- 5/15/2009
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Directed by Stephen Frears and adapted by Christopher Hampton from Colette’s novel, Chéri stars Michelle Pfeiffer as a 1920s French courtesan who teaches a young man (Rupert Friend) the ways of love and sex. Also in the Chéri cast: Kathy Bates, Felicity Jones, Anita Pallenberg, Frances Tomelty. Chéri opens in the Us on June 26. Official site. Sacha Baron Cohen in Bruno Trailer Carmen Miranda Does "Cai, Cai" in That Night In Rio Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart in Adventureland Trailer Best Actress Oscar Winners - 1927/28-2007 Hattie McDaniel’s Oscar Acceptance Speech...
- 4/13/2009
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
Miramax has finally unveiled the domestic trailer for Stephen Frears' Cheri starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend and Kathy Bates. The film is an adaptation of the 1920s novel by French author Colette about the lingering effects of a romance between a middle-aged woman (Pfeiffer) and a wealthy young man (Friend). Set in 1920s Paris, where the young son of a wealthy courtesan (Bates) is educated in the ways of love by a middle-aged friend of the man's mother. When he is forced to give up the six-year relationship after marrying someone else, the young man can't forget her and retreats into a fantasy world. Check out the trailer below and if you are up to it I have 25 pictures in our gallery right here. Cheri is set to hit theaters on June 26 and is likely to be remembered throughout the rest of the year and into Oscar season if...
- 4/10/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Director Frears Wins French Prize
British filmmaker Stephen Frears has been honoured with a prestigious French arts award.
The Queen director was awarded the Commander of Arts and Letters prize by French Culture Minister Christine Albanel on Wednesday.
Frears' career has been heavily influenced by the country - his 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons was based on a novel by 18th century French writer Choderlos de Laclos, and upcoming movie Cheri is based on a book by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette.
He says, "I have always loved French cinema."...
The Queen director was awarded the Commander of Arts and Letters prize by French Culture Minister Christine Albanel on Wednesday.
Frears' career has been heavily influenced by the country - his 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons was based on a novel by 18th century French writer Choderlos de Laclos, and upcoming movie Cheri is based on a book by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette.
He says, "I have always loved French cinema."...
- 3/19/2009
- WENN
Finally we get an official trailer for Stephen Frears' Cheri, a sure-fire Oscar contender starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend and Kathy Bates... that is if Oscar voters can remember back to June 19 once voting comes around as Miramax plans to roll the film out to limited theaters during the summer months. The film is Frears' follow-up to The Queen (2006) and is an adaptation of the 1920s novel by French author Colette about the lingering effects of a romance between a middle-aged woman (Pfeiffer) and a wealthy young man (Friend). Set in 1920s Paris, where the young son of a wealthy courtesan (Bates) is educated in the ways of love by a middle-aged friend of the man's mother. When he is forced to give up the six-year relationship after marrying someone else, the young man can't forget her and retreats into a fantasy world. Check out the trailer below and...
- 3/19/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Photo: Pathe I just received an international banner and poster for Cheri, the hotly anticipated feature starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend directed by Stephen Frears. The film hits the UK in May, as you can tell from the poster it will also be at Cannes and then it hits Us theaters on June 19. Miramax is distributing domestically. The film is an adaptation of the 1920s novel by French author Colette about the lingering effects of a romance between a middle-aged woman (Pfeiffer) and a wealthy young man (Friend). Set in 1920s Paris, where the young son of a wealthy courtesan (Bates) is educated in the ways of love by a middle-aged friend of the man's mother. When he is forced to give up the six-year relationship after marrying someone else, the young man can't forget her and retreats into a fantasy world. You have already seen the banner at...
- 3/8/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The first clip from the upcoming Michelle Pfeiffer's romantic film "Cheri," which is an adaptation of the 1920s novel by French author Colette, has been released. Click on the link below to check it out. The story is about the lingering effects of a romance between a middle-aged woman (Pfeiffer) and a wealthy young man (Rupert Friend). Set in 1920s Paris, where the young son of a wealthy courtesan (Kathy Bates) is educated in the ways of love by a middle-aged friend of the man's mother. When he is forced to give up the six-year relationship after marrying someone else, the young man can't forget her and retreats into a fantasy world. The new film is directed by Stephen Frears, the man behind "High Fidelity" and "The Queen." It is scheduled to hit theaters on June 19th, in limited release. Click here to read more about "Cheri."...
- 3/6/2009
- WorstPreviews.com
Rupert Friend and Michelle Pfeiffer in Cheri
Photo: Miramax Films / Pathe While the highly anticipated Stephen Frears and Michelle Pfeiffer reunion Cheri was debuting in Berlin not too long ago there were a few video featurettes from the likes of the BBC, Associated Press and TV Guide that aired and have now found their way onto YouTube. Each offers a glimpse or two at the film while also offering up brief interview snippets. I have added all three below. Cheri stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend and Kathy Bates and is an adaptation of the 1920s novel by French author Colette about the lingering effects of a romance between a middle-aged woman (Pfeiffer) and a wealthy young man (Friend). Set in 1920s Paris, where the young son of a wealthy courtesan (Bates) is educated in the ways of love by a middle-aged friend of the man's mother. When he is forced...
Photo: Miramax Films / Pathe While the highly anticipated Stephen Frears and Michelle Pfeiffer reunion Cheri was debuting in Berlin not too long ago there were a few video featurettes from the likes of the BBC, Associated Press and TV Guide that aired and have now found their way onto YouTube. Each offers a glimpse or two at the film while also offering up brief interview snippets. I have added all three below. Cheri stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend and Kathy Bates and is an adaptation of the 1920s novel by French author Colette about the lingering effects of a romance between a middle-aged woman (Pfeiffer) and a wealthy young man (Friend). Set in 1920s Paris, where the young son of a wealthy courtesan (Bates) is educated in the ways of love by a middle-aged friend of the man's mother. When he is forced...
- 2/27/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Thanks to Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere we get our first report from the Berlin Film Fest as Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter brings positive word on Stephen Frears's Cheri, the film I featured only a week ago as a potential Oscar contender for Michelle Pfeiffer among many other in the cast and on the crew. Cheri is an adaptation of the 1920s novel by French author Colette (Gigi) about the lingering effects of a romance between a middle-aged woman (Pfeiffer) and a wealthy young man (Rupert Friend). Set in 1920s Paris, where the young son of a wealthy courtesan (Kathy Bates) is educated in the ways of love by a middle-aged friend of the man's mother. When he is forced to give up the six-year relationship after marrying someone else, the young man can't forget her and retreats into a fantasy world. Honeycutt calls the film the...
- 2/10/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend in Cheri
Photo: Miramax Films / Pathe This March the new film from Stephen Frears (The Queen) will hit theaters in the UK as Michelle Pfeiffer stars in the hotly anticipated Cheri a film that stars Kathy Bates as Madame Peloux, a famed courtesan in 1920s France, who sends the spoiled Cheri (Rupert Friend) to her courtesan pal Lea de Lonval (Michelle Pfeiffer) for an adult education, but their six-year affair comes to a painful end when he's forced to marry a wealthy young woman. Christopher Hampton, who was nominated for an Oscar for his screen adaptation of Atonement (2007) and won for his Dangerous Liaisons (1988) script, adapted the script from the novel by the late Sidonie Gabrielle Colette. Based purely on the talent involved this film is gaining attention considering Frears, Hampton and Pfeiffer were all involved in Dangerous Liaisons and all three have proved to...
Photo: Miramax Films / Pathe This March the new film from Stephen Frears (The Queen) will hit theaters in the UK as Michelle Pfeiffer stars in the hotly anticipated Cheri a film that stars Kathy Bates as Madame Peloux, a famed courtesan in 1920s France, who sends the spoiled Cheri (Rupert Friend) to her courtesan pal Lea de Lonval (Michelle Pfeiffer) for an adult education, but their six-year affair comes to a painful end when he's forced to marry a wealthy young woman. Christopher Hampton, who was nominated for an Oscar for his screen adaptation of Atonement (2007) and won for his Dangerous Liaisons (1988) script, adapted the script from the novel by the late Sidonie Gabrielle Colette. Based purely on the talent involved this film is gaining attention considering Frears, Hampton and Pfeiffer were all involved in Dangerous Liaisons and all three have proved to...
- 2/4/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
- I was expecting Cheri to be among this year's late film festival offerings, but the explanation for the no-shows at Venice, Telluride and Toronto are best explained by the production dates -- Stephen Frears spent the better part of the summer filming his follow up to the massively popular The Queen. This means that the picture could be ready for a Berlin Film Fest presence, but distribution companies who own the picture such as Miramax (who own domestic right for the U.S) and powerhouse Pathe (who own U.K and France rights) are going to be looking towards Cannes 2009 to present this film and Frears will have probably started working on prepping for the great screenplay called Selma, about Martin Luther King, Lyndon Baines Johnson and the civil rights marches that changed America. Scripted by Christopher Hampton, Colette set her book in 1920s Paris, where the young son
- 9/17/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.