Iris is a successful dentist in her forties and mother of two well-behaved and ambitious teenagers. Stéphane, her husband, is a good-looking architect and workaholic who takes his computer into his marriage bed. He hasn’t had any desire for her for years. In order to be desired as a woman again, Iris registers on a dating app.
“It’s Raining Men” is a comedy about love and sex in the age of dating apps. It is Caroline Vignal’s third feature film, in which she once again brings Laure Calamy in front of the camera. Vignal shot her successful film “My Lover, the Donkey” with the 49-year-old
In Vignal’s new film, Calamy shines in the role of Iris, who decides to look for a lover to find her lost desire. Initially unsure and embarrassed, she soon plunges restlessly into her adventures. While her husband (Vincent Elbaz) unsuspectingly concentrates on his work, Iris blossoms again through her double life.
The opening sequence is one of the most amusing. It happens when the osteopath presses and kneads it. The treatment is painful for Iris, but also sensual, because she had almost forgotten the effect of being embraced by strong men’s arms.
Long-term relationships
Although the film loses pace in the repetitive extramarital trysts and recurring bed scenes, Vignal capitalizes on the theme and raises questions about long-standing relationships.
A nice interlude is the musical sequence with the song “It’s Raining Men”, which unfortunately appears out of nowhere. The song that gives the title to the German film version – the original comedy is called “Iris et les hommes” (Iris and the men) – comes from the Weather Girls and from the early 80s.
The film’s approach to the topic of infidelity is successful. Despite Iris’s carefree extramarital adventures, Vignal avoids portraying them as the ideal solution to a relationship at rock bottom. Instead, she emphasizes the importance of communication and self-discovery.
Despite some weaknesses in the overall rhythm and a certain repetition, Vignal has made an entertaining and light-hearted comedy about female desire – a topic that is rarely dealt with in cinema.
It’s Raining Men, France 2023, 98 min., FSK from 12, by Caroline Vignal, with Laure Calamy and Vincent Elbaz
