French Girl

French Girl is a 2024 romantic comedy directed by James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright. It follows Gordon Kinski, a high school teacher from Brooklyn, who accompanies his girlfriend, chef Sophie Tremblay, to her hometown of Quebec City, where she is testing for a position at a Michelin 3-star restaurant run by super-chef Ruby Collins.^[1]

Gordon Kinski, an English teacher in Brooklyn, plans to propose to his girlfriend, Sophie Tremblay, a talented chef. Sophie is invited to Quebec City for a trial as head chef at a prestigious restaurant owned by her ex-girlfriend, Ruby Collins. Gordon joins Sophie on the trip, meeting her family, who are skeptical of him. Tensions rise as Gordon navigates cultural differences and Sophie’s past relationship with Ruby. After a series of comedic and heartfelt events, including a car accident and a family funeral, Gordon and Sophie reconcile, leading to a proposal accepted with her family’s blessing.^[2]

• Zach Braff as Gordon Kinski
• Evelyne Brochu as Sophie Tremblay
• Vanessa Hudgens as Ruby Collins

Produced by Caramel Films, the film was shot in Quebec City and Montreal. Jean-François Lord served as the cinematographer, with music composed by Scott Price. The film’s production design was handled by Jean-André Carrière, and costumes were designed by Mariane Carter.^[3]

French Girl premiered at the 2024 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.^[4]

The film received generally negative reviews.

Amy Nicholson wrote in the New York Times: "The filmmakers James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright push their script dangerously close to parody. But there are at least a dozen good zingers in here, particularly a three-part punchline from Ed Weeks as a snobbish food critic that kicks off with, “Have you ever seen an emaciated dolphin?” The trouble is, none of the performances are on the same wavelength: Hudgens is an outrageously hilarious monster; Brochu, an earnest heroine; and the increasingly unhinged Braff tries too hard to be empathetic. The more he wants us to sympathize with his hapless character, the more unforgivable Gordon’s actions feel."^[5]

In Variety, Lisa Kennedy wrote: "For every inventive or simply satisfying rom-com, there are dozens of clumsy, rote ones — French Girl falls among the latter."^[6]

Radheyan Simonpillai in The Globe and Mail wrote: "It just makes me crave a CanCon rom-com where divisive cultural gaps are explored in a way that doesn’t feel so detached from reality, and this country’s history."^[7]

On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 25% based on 24 reviews.^[8]

At the 2024 Mammoth Film Festival, French Girl was nominated for Best Genre Film Feature and Best Actor in a Feature (Zach Braff), and won for "Achievement in Filmmaking – International".^[9]