Its title referring to the beach and sea where the story takes places, Crustacés et Coquillages (Crustaceans and Shell Fish) is a light-hearted mix of comedy and drama about a family who spend their summer on the French coast. Mom and dad are kept occupied with the thought of their son Charly being gay or not, because he seems to be very close to his friend Martin who recently joined them. Mom’s lover unexpectedly shows up on her proverbial doorstep and the daughter has left with a her motorcycle-riding boyfriend.

This is a film that smacks of a standard soap opera, but with motion picture length. The characters are flat and rather predictable and undergo little development in the movie’s first hour. During the last thirty minutes, things go really fast in order to tie up loose ends and finish the whole thing off with a happy ending. This film is cute, but totally forgettable and the only actress really worth seeing is Gillian Anderson look-alike Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (who recently starred in François Ozon’s truly awful 5×2).

Directed by: Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau
Starring: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Gilbert Melki, Romain Torres, Edouard Collin
Running Time: 93’
Release dates: US: 9 September, Netherlands: 11 August
Official Website