Film Review: Green Card (1990)

If you are making “high concept” film it helps if you are talented and highly respected director. And even more so if your basic premise is connected to important social issue that can be presented in ways that win hearts of most critics. That is lesson learned with Green Card, 1990 romantic comedy written and directed by Peter Weir.

Protagonist, played by Andie MacDowell, is Brontë Parrish, horticulturalist who has found perfect apartment in New York City. However, she can’t get it unless she is married. Solution comes in the form of Georges Faure, French chef who might get deported unless he finds a way to obtain residency permit. Brontë and Georges enter into marriage of convenience and soon afterwards go their merry ways. Unfortunately, the scheme caught attention of US Immigration and Naturalization Service. Brontë’s lawyer (played by Robert Prosky) warns her that she might get into legal trouble unless she convinces authorities that the marriage is real. Georges is invited to her apartment when they are supposed to learn as much as possible about each other and co-ordinate the stories that they would tell federal agents. At first they can’t stand each other because differences in character – Georges is vulgar, smokes and eats meat much to the horror of vegetarian Brontë. However, they gradually and inevitably become attracted to each other and what began as sham transforms into real love.

Issue of immigration is interesting backdrop for romantic comedy and something that Weir, as Australian, was probably more aware than most Hollywood film makers. While the debate about status and rights of immigrants might be still going in real world, film, unsurprisingly, takes their side. However, Weir’s approach is more subdued and far from “wokeness” of today’s Hollywood. Immigration officials, which serve as closest thing to villains in Green Card aren’t portrayed as xenophobic monsters but, at worst, dour bureaucrats represented by character played by Ethan Phillips (who would, ironically, reach fame by playing space immigrant Neelix in Star Trek: Voyager). Weir is, instead, more interested in the story and opportunity to show everyone that he can make light-hearted comedies instead of serious and often depressive dramas that had brought him fame in the past. Simple but effective premise works very well, but mostly due to good casting. Weir wrote the film specifically for Gerard Depardieu and the French star delivers good in impressive and often charming performance. Andie MacDowall is also good and has just enough chemistry with him for the film to work as unassuming light-hearted romantic comedy. Weir mostly clings to cliches and makes everything predictable until somewhat surprising bittersweet ending. Green Card might look dated because its premise looks somewhat implausible in increasingly Orwellian post-9/11 world and omnipresence of people-tracking social media, but can still be recommended to the audience willing to invest time in feather-light romantic comedies.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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