Passport to Paris (3½ Stars)

Almost all the films I review are part of my personal DVD collection. Occasionally I go to see a film in the cinema, but no more than five or six times a year. A few years ago I rented DVD's, but now that the prices have dropped so low I rarely do it. I only download movies or watch them online if they're otherwise unavailable. But there's something I never do. I don't borrow DVD's from friends. Maybe it's because I don't have any friends who own DVD's I would want to watch? I said never, but this film, "Passport to Paris", is a rare exception. I have never had the least interest in the Olsen twins. To me it seemed like a case of all hype and no talent. And then, one day, a friend of mine practically forced a box set of their films into my hands. They've been lying on my shelf for weeks and I really need to give them back eventually, so I decided to give them a chance. One of the films at least.

Mary-Kate and Ashley play Melanie and Allyson Porter, twin sisters from Northwood, California. As a gift for their 13th birthday they are given a 10-day holiday in Paris during spring break. They stay with their grandfather, the U.S. ambassador to France. Their initial excitement is soon dampened. For their first meal they're given snails and frogs' legs to eat, and wine to drink. They eat pizza and drink Coca Cola in secret, to the horror of Henri, the embassy's chef. They're sent on sight-seeing tours to the city's museums, but all they want to do is meet boys and go dancing. But in the end, predictably, American culture triumphs. Henri comes to realise that hamburgers and french fries taste better than French food, and at an official dinner party the girls persuade everyone to drink water.

The film is actually better than I would have expected. It's a lot more entertaining than other children's films I've seen. On the other hand, the American propaganda is sickly. Maybe people who don't come from France have a natural aversion to eating snails, but does anyone really think hamburgers and fries taste best? And the suggestion that it's wrong for children to drink wine appalls me; just because America imposes restrictions it doesn't mean it's wrong. French children learn to drink wine with meals as soon as they are able to sit at the table, which leads to a more natural attitude towards alcohol later in life.

After watching this I'll definitely check out the other films in the set. The girls seemed to be proficient actresses at 13, when they made this film. Let's see what they were like in later years.