talyseon's Full Review: American Werewolf in Paris
Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.
An American Werewolf in Paris. (1997) Directed by Anthony Waller.
Bouncer: Claude said no one is to be admitted once the door was locked. Serafine: The full moon is rising; would you rather I remained out here with you? Bouncer: Uh, no. [Opens the door and lets Serafine in, quickly locking the door behind her]
I was looking for something, anything, I could review for the French Write off for Barbara. This was the best I could come up with that I have not already reviewed.
After the wild success of An American Werewolf in London as a cult classic, it was inevitable that a sequel would follow.
The Plot.
Andy (Tom Everett Scott) Brad, (Vince Vieluf) and Chris (Phil Buckman) are American Students on a Daredevil Tour of Europe. While they are somewhat typical “ugly Americans” they mean no harm, and do display some redeeming qualities, particularly in the realm of loyalty.
Andy has a plan to get ahead on Daredevil points by bungee jumping off the Eiffel Tower. There he sees a beautiful girl trying to commit suicide (Julie Delpy). He lunges after her, catching her. Fortunately, his friends catch his rope, which was not tied off. She slips from his grasp and Cinderella like, leaves him with a shoe, before the recoil smacks him off the observation deck.
In the hospital, he sees her, in a nurse’s uniform with a couple of hearts. While he can’t chase after her, his two friends, in one of their redeeming scenes, have scoured the Eiffel area for her suicide note. Using that, they track her down.
Serafine Pigot is a woman of mystery, but Andy is stalker level persistent, and she agrees to meet him for a date. It does not go well; after chewing a condom, and Serafine pulling a Steven Segal on some jerk, they flee the café, and Serafine tells Andy it is safer not to see him again.
His unremitting persistence means he and his friends meet Claude, (Pierre Cosso) a French skinhead who invites them to a party because he loves Americans.
Alas, Serafine is a werewolf. So is Claude, and his Club du la Lune is a sick trap to kill Americans. Since Phil went back to the house to check on Serafine, he instead finds her locked in a cage in the basement, and when he tells her where the others are, ends up taking her place. Serafine is STRONG.
At the club, Serafine pulls Andy into the catacombs and sewers beneath the city, but doesn’t know about Brad. When the moon transforms them, the abandoned church/disco becomes a blood bath, while Andy is pursued by several werewolves, one of whom is Serafine. He is bitten, but escapes.
Now his world is changing. Brad is dead; Phil has been traumatized by the crippled werewolf in the cellar, and captured by Claude. The Police are interested in Andy, and his connection to the massacre. And when he flees from Serafine, (and her mother) he is left to complete the transformation on his own…sad for Amy Finch, (Julie Bowen) an American tramp he runs into, and seduces. The fact that she can be seduced by someone who looks like he is having an acid trip sort of looses her the sympathy she would otherwise garner. She does have good survival skills in the graveyard…
Andy’s life becomes a nightmare; a werewolf, pursued by the police and a French Supremacist Werewolf pack, with a growing collection of ghosts haunting his existence. How will he ever get the girl of his dreams? And what if to cure himself, he has to eat her heart?
The Analysis.
It’s predecessor, An American Werewolf in London, was brilliant. Small, simple, it was also funny, horrifying and charming. Here, they tried to do things bigger and better.
Three American Boys. A whole pack of Werewolves. Not one detective, but the entire police department.
Too bad more is not necessarily better. The CGI werewolves can do more than the animatronics original, but do not have the same veritas…while there are three friends, and they frequently get half naked, David Naughton got all the way naked. Of course, this movie does have the exquisite Julie Delpy topless, which is worth the price of admission for the straight boys. However, it is sadly lacking in butt shots of any gender.
Also, the electric chemistry between David Naughton and Julie Agutter is missing here. Oh, they are sweet, but there is something lacking beyond the shower scene….
All in all, a weak remake of the classic. Still, taken on its own merits, not too bad. And the scenes of Paris are lovely.
This is my submission to the French Write Off in honor of my favorite Francophile, ifif1938. Barbara, mon chere, you will be missed.
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