Populaire (2012)

Romain Duris and Deborah Francios in "Populaire."

Speed typing contests—using those quaint, erstwhile antiques called manual typewriters—were apparently popular enough during the 1950s to fill up a grand ballroom roughly the size of Radio City Music Hall. At least that's the case in "Populaire," the ponderous and formulaic but ebullient and irresistibly charming French romantic comedy by first-time director Regis Roinsard.

These days, the contest would be usurped by speed texting drills and dominated by gossipy high school freshman with quick trigger thumbs. In Roinsard's film, the participants tend to be eager, attractive young women angling for a career in the competitive world of professional secretaries. What can you say, things were different back then.

The story introduces us to Rose Pamphyle, a twenty-something French girl who hears about one of the contests and decides to travel to compete. Desperate to escape her small, provincial town and working in her father's nondescript retail store, she sees it as a chance for a big break. Also, she just happens to be able to type really, really fast.

Rose finds employment as a secretary at an insurance office run by Louis Echard (Romain Duris), a smooth operator who quickly discovers Rose's potential for typing greatness as she hammers away at the keys—initially using the dependable two-finger method—with fluid dexterity and lightning speed. Thinking she has the stuff to be a future world champion, he convinces her to move from his office to his sprawling mansion so she can practice full time.

Their relationship remains platonic at first—like a trainer and an athlete, cute workout montages feature Louis cycling while Rose jogs, borrowed from the "Rocky" movies—but romance is bound to bloom sooner or later between this handsome teacher and pulchritudinous protégé.

The movie lurches along during its last half hour, moving through a checklist of tedious romantic comedy clichés—the couple suffers the obligatory break up followed by the inevitable reconciliation—and nearly losing all the lighthearted comic momentum that sustained it as far. "Populaire" recovers in the end by the time Rose finds herself in New York at the silly yet surprisingly entertaining speed typing world finals.

Even though set in the 50s, “Populaire” has some of the appeal of Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in the 1940 “His Girl Friday,” or the Astaire-Rogers musical act of the 1930s. The formula is usually the same, a mismatched couple who exchange sarcastic quips but stick together just long enough to fall in love.

By far the best thing going for "Populaire" is its engaging heroine. Rose is played by Deborah Francios, a Belgian actress with an easy charm and instant likability. A plucky, adorable presence with strawberry blonde hair and a soft smile, Francios makes Rose so easy to root for that it forgives the screenplay's weaker, more predictable moments.