Avenue Montaigne

Avenue Montaigne While it’s always a wise decision to approach a French comedy with more than a little trepidation, Avenue Montaigne is one of those rare exceptions to the rule that prove that the Gallic sense of humor is translatable. The eponymous street here is the vortex of theater, haut couture, music and other snobbish pursuits, where various French types gather in a bistro to talk, talk, talk. At the center of the rhubarb is a gamine transplant that serves as the first female waiter in the joint, and on a narrative level also serves as the slender thread that weaves all the stories together. But it’s interesting conversation and a bit more, with likable characters and a wry sense of self that is content to be nothing more than a breezy 90 minutes in the company of petites vignettes. Maybe it’s just pretending to be French.