135. I Got Life! (Aurore); movie review

I GOT LIFE! (AURORE)
Cert 15
89 mins
BBFC advice: Contains brief strong sex

We laughed and laughed and laughed. Agnès Jaoui has nailed what it is like to be going through the menopause in Blandine Lenoir's I Got Life!
From her hot flushes (my subtitles said flashes!), to her mood swings to her deep desire to cling on to youth, Jaoui's Aurore captures mid-life to a tee.
How do we know? Well, whisper it quietly but her character is a very similar age to Mrs W.
I don't know how younger age groups would view I Got Life! but, because it was aimed at ours and was so superbly observed, it made us chortle more than any film for a long time.
From sex to ailments to the dramas of grown-up children, to fashion accidents and automatic doors that just won't open, it is real life despite being fiction.
With hindsight it makes sense that I Got Life! has a large writing team (including Jaoui and Lenoir) because it has many fast scenes.
Usually, moving quickly from one to another makes a movie jar and reduces the opportunity for character exploration.
So, hats off to the I Got Life! team because we felt as if we got to know Aurore's history, likes, dislikes and the little foibles which make her so endearing.
She loves her daughters (Sarah Suco and Lou Roy-Lecollinet) even though they are frustratingly demanding, adores her best friend (Pascale Arbillot) even though she regularly drops her in it, and even fails to be uptight with her ex (Philippe Rebbot).
But she is not a push-over as her boss finds as do those who are charged with trying to find her a new job.
Anyway, I am making I Got Life! sound far too serious - when it really isn't.
In fact, we laughed and laughed and laughed (oops, I think I already said that).

Reasons to watch: Funniest film of the year so far
Reasons to avoid: May not resonate as much with younger folk

Laughs: Twelve
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 9/10

Director statement - Blandine Lenoir: "I wanted to do an everyday heroine, just like a woman you know in your day-to-day life, like the women I know.”

The big question - Why shouldn't there be life after 50?

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