POPULAIRE
⋆⋆½ out of four stars
Rated: R for a scene of sexuality.
Theater: Edina.
"Populaire" is a frothy little French period piece with a taste of gender-role history tucked into its boy-meets-secretary romance.
It's 1958, and shy, pretty and naive Rose Pamphyle (Deborah Francois) longs to dig into "the latest fashion" — becoming a secretary. She teaches herself to type. Then she takes the bus to the big city.
Louis Echard (Romain Duris) is an insurance agent in need of a secretary, a dashing, dismissive fellow with a hint of "cad" about him. He doesn't think much of her klutziness, but he sees in Rose a champion speed-typist, a woman who can win glory for herself and maybe her competitive boss. She gets the job.
Typing competitions take over the picture, slowing things down. The leads are charming, the supporting players (Berenice Bejo plays Echard's old flame; Shaun Benson is that old flame's go-getter/wisecracking American husband) are stellar.
"Populaire" is never less than cute.
ROGER MOORE, McClatchy News Service
BATTLE OF THE YEAR
⋆⋆ out of four stars
Rated: PG-13 for language and some rude behavior
The formulaic "Battle of the Year" touches on how the rest of the world has embraced B-boy culture, but how they're no longer perceived as cutting edge or "cool" in the United States.
That worries the Sean Combs-like impresario, Dante (Laz Alonso), who seeks to put American B-boys back on top. He hires an old dance buddy, W.B. (for "Wonder Bread"), now a grieving, alcoholic ex-basketball coach (Josh Holloway of "Lost"). W.B. has to get himself up to speed on the current state of dance, then recruit and coach a "dream team" to take on the rest of the world, which has passed America by and long dominated the annual B-boy Olympics known as "BOTY," the Battle of the Year.