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The Love Punch
The Love Punch
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joel Hopkins
Written by	Joel Hopkins
Produced by	Jean-Charles Levy; Clément Miserez; Tim Perell; Nicola Usborne
Starring	Pierce Brosnan; Emma Thompson; Timothy Spall; Celia Imrie; Louise Bourgoin; Laurent Lafitte
Cinematography	Jérôme Alméras
Edited by	Susan Littenberg
Music by	Jean-Michel Bernard
Distributed by	Entertainment One (UK)
Release dates	12 September 2013 (TIFF); 18 April 2013 (UK);
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$4.8 million

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

Emma Thompson as Kate Jones
Pierce Brosnan as Richard Jones
Celia Imrie as Penelope
Timothy Spall as Jerry
Louise Bourgoin as Manon Fontane
Laurent Lafitte as Vincent Kruger
Marisa Berenson as Catherine
Olivier Chantreau as Jean-Baptiste Durain
Ellen Thomas as Doreen
Tuppence Middleton as Sophie Jones
Jack Wilkinson as Matt Jones
Adam Byron as Tyler
John Ramm as Ken
Eleanor Matsuura as Michaela
Linda Hardy as Glaxo secretary
Sabine Crossen as Texan couple woman 1
Julie Ordon as Girl 1 beach club
Tom Morton as Tim
Catriona MacColl as Wedding guest

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]