Priceless (hors de prix) (12a)

Jun 13 2008 By Graham Young

HANDS UP if you were one of those people who couldn't get into cinemas fast enough to see Sex And The City.

If that's you, make a quick beeline return to Cineworld Broad Street to see this little gem which is even better and runs to a more manageable 105 minutes.

French star Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code) is on delightful form as Irene, a tidy-looking, label-obsessed money-grabber who's staying at a luxury Biarritz hotel with sugar daddy Jacques (Vernon Dobtcheff).

Shy bartender Jean (Gad Elmaleh) can only envy the rich guests for whom he might do a bit of dog walking if he's lucky.

It then seems as if his luck is about to turn when Jacques falls asleep and Irene wanders down to the bar... where she mistakes the smartly-dressed Jean as another millionaire to pick on.

Though spending the night with Irene might be a dream come true for Jean, wouldn't his colleagues find out about his cardinal sin? And, what if Irene wants him to do a bit of real spending... with money!

Naturally, his off-the-cuff plans don't all work out. But, when lovesick Jean seems destined for the gutter, wealthy widow Madeleine (Marie-Christine Adam) arrives with some lessons in seduction.

Priceless is a beautifully-shot, joyous romp.

The now 31-year-old Tautou effortlessly recalls her heyday in Amelie (2001) and the biggest surprise is that this was made as long ago as 2006.

The fact that it's in French, with subtitles and features a leading man who vaguely resembles Manchester United captain Gary Neville shouldn't put anyone off.