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Audrey Tautou's performance is 'Priceless'

Audrey Tautou is so adorable that she can make even a contemptible character irresistible.

Tautou stars in Pierre Salvadori's "Priceless," a glittery little bauble that owes its sheen to a witty, turnabout script and the combined talents of Tautou and co-star Gad Elmaleh, last seen in another comedy of mistaken identity, "The Valet."

Tautou first displayed her comedic chops to global audiences in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's delightful romantic fable "Amelie" (2001). She then took an effective turn to straight drama, first in collaboration with Jeunet in the World War I epic "A Very Long Engagement" and later in her first English-langage role, for Stephen Frears' "Dirty Pretty Things."

Having proven she could handle a variety of material, she returns to romantic comedy as a gold digger who flits from tycoon to nobleman to sugar daddy in her endless pursuit of high-priced "security." For her, all means are acceptable in finding a place in the sun. The only thing that frightens her, aside from being penniless, is love.

When her latest tryst with a fellow three times her age goes south in the opulent hotels of the South of France, Irene (Tautou) finds herself alone in a bar with a sleeping patron. Or so she thinks. Already on the prowl again, she mistakes Jean (Elmaleh), a shy young bartender, for a millionaire. Instantly smitten, it's an illusion he is not quick to dispel.

But when Irene learns his true identity, she promptly dumps him, only to discover that the love-struck Jean has no intention of letting her get away. He spends every Euro he's got in an effort to win her attention, and she, ever the opportunist, callously allows him to do it. Yet, she has no real interest in him until she sees an older, wealthy woman (Marie Christine Adam) draft him as her latest "project."

Soon, Irene is giving Jean a primer on "How to be a Gigolo." Landing a rich widow is "beginner's luck," she tells him. And the two, now colleagues of a sort, do their best to assist each other in holding on to their new conquests. While Jean chafes from time to time over being the "kept man" of a domineering sugar momma, which only fans the latter's interest, Irene has no such qualms. But somehow, no matter who's arm she's on, Irene can't stop thinking about Jean.

Sure, the denouement is predictable. You'd be disappointed if it wasn't. This breezy trajectory is a great part of the film's charm, together with a jaunty little plot twist, the winning performances and opulent settings. "Priceless" has a very '60s feel. You expect Cary Grant to walk through a hotel lobby at any moment.

The nod to Hepburn is fitting, considering that writer-director Salvadori ("Apres Vous") considers his movie "a fresh re-imagining" of "Breakfast at Tiffany's." That's a bit of a stretch, but the film does reveal trace elements of the work of Blake Edwards, not to mention Howard Hawks and Ernst Lubitsch. And there's no disputing the absolute rightness of Tautou and Elmaleh — so reminiscent of Buster Keaton — in the leads.

Here's to chicanery.

The elfin French actress reminds one of another Audrey (Hepburn) in the way she seduces and disarms an audience, seemingly without trying, with big conspiratorial eyes and a blithe, infectious manner that beckons: "Come along with me. This is going to be fun!"And it is. Reach Bill Thompson<

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