The Love Punch

For other uses, see Love Punch (disambiguation).

The Love Punch
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoel Hopkins
Written byJoel Hopkins
Produced byJean-Charles Levy
Clément Miserez
Tim Perell
Nicola Usborne
StarringPierce Brosnan
Emma Thompson
Timothy Spall
Celia Imrie
Louise Bourgoin
Laurent Lafitte
CinematographyJérôme Alméras
Edited bySusan Littenberg
Music byJean-Michel Bernard
Distributed byEntertainment One (UK)
Release dates
  • 12 September 2013 (2013-09-12) (TIFF)
  • 18 April 2013 (2013-04-18) (UK)
[1]
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4.8 million[2]

The Love Punch is a 2013 British comedy film written and directed by Joel Hopkins. It was screened in the Gala Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[3]

Plot

Richard (Pierce Brosnan) and Kate Jones (Emma Thompson) are divorcees with two children Sophie and Matt. Richard's company is sold to a corrupt French businessman, Vincent (Laurent Lafitte), and the company's pension plan is lost, including all of Richard and Kate's investments for the whole family. They go to Paris and confront Vincent, where Vincent does not deny all the things he did legally, if not morally. Richard and Kate plot to get their money back. They find out that Vincent is marrying his beautiful girlfriend, Manon (Louise Bourgoin). They plan to steal the diamond Vincent gave to Manon, which is worth over $10 million, intending for this to replace the pension money Vincent took from the company.

Learning of Vincent's upcoming wedding, Richard and Kate follow Vincent and Manon to the south of France. After Kate makes contact with Manon at a beach party, Richard and Kate enlist their friends Jerry and Penelope to help them impersonate a group of Texans attending the party, with the intention that they will infiltrate the party and switch the diamond for a fake, also passing on the diamond to Jerry and Penelope so that they will not be suspected. Having infiltrated the wedding, the Joneses attempt to take the diamond, but are interrupted by a tearful Manon, who confesses her doubts about the wedding to Kate. After Kate offers her advice on marriage, Manon learns about their motives for being there and decides to give them the diamond of her own free will. Vincent realizes the switch after Manon officially calls the wedding off, but Jerry and Penelope are able to get out with the diamond after Jerry swallows it. Richard and Kate are nearly sent over a cliff in a van, but Manon is able to intercept the van and save them, allowing Kate to call a contact with a boat to pick them up.

Selling the diamond to a contact of Jerry's for $15 million, Richard and Kate decide to spend some time traveling while Jerry and Penelope take the money back to donate it to Richard's former employees.

Cast

Reception

Peter Bradshaw, writing in The Guardian, gave the film 3 stars saying that it is an "entirely ridiculous, cheerfully daft and very amiable midlife comedy".[4]

References

  1. ^ "Love Punch". Time Out London. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  2. ^ "The Love Punch". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  3. ^ "The Love Punch". Toronto International Film Festival (official site). Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  4. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (17 April 2014). "The Love Punch review – entirely ridiculous but likable midlife comedy". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2016.


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