Patrick Vs. "A Woman Is A Woman" (Thoughts on "A Woman Is A Woman")

Patrick Versus A Woman Is A Woman 

In this week's episode: Patrick takes on one of the slighter efforts of director Jean-Luc Godard

I don't have time for a complete review so here are some random thoughts:

-Very colorful, light and fun. It would have been nice if it were more substantial but the film generally has enough charm that it doesn't matter.
-Slightly pretentious at times. Jean-Luc Godard at times seems really self-aware that he's being completely flippant and unconventional and that becomes distracting and frustrating at times.
-Though typically classified as a homage to American musicals, it has very little in the way of music. The sound is unnecessarily experimental at times. Music plays in synch with people's talking at times, and, in one instance, Anna Karina does actually sing, but the music is almost besides the point.
-Anna Karina is a lot of fun; she's young and vibrant and it's pleasant to watch her coo or play coy, but overall Angela is a less of a character and more of a delivery system for whatever Godard wants her to say. The same is true of most of the characters.
-Did Angela need to be a stripper? It almost seems pointless, and that sure is a tame strip club.
-Angela's desire to get pregnant is also totally unexplained. Although it does lead to a great ending.
-I guess the real problem is nobody's motivation for anything is clear and the plot doesn't have a strong enough sense of forward momentum to overcome this. (For instance, the love triangle almost seems to exist solely for the sake of existing rather than because these people actually have a genuine interest in one another)
-The scene where Angela and Emile use book titles to express themselves is really cute and funny.

Consensus: Overall it's all very light and the film jumps around a lot, uncertain as to what it wants to be. It's amusing but forgettable, and Godard produced better works.

Grade: B-