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Ever since she graduated from college, Nora Wilder (Parker Posey) has had nothing but bad luck with men. Even if she does happen to meet a guy, he’s usually a jerk—like the handsome and quirky young actor who uses her for the night, despite having a famous girlfriend back in LA. Or she’s set up with a nice guy who’s still madly in love with his ex.
Being single is bad enough. So it doesn’t help that everyone around Nora is happily paired—like her best friend, Audrey (Drea de Matteo), who’s been happily married (to the guy Nora introduced her to) for five years. And Nora is so desperate to find someone who will love her that she’s stopped having fun. She’s too busy trying to find The One.
One night, in an attempt to get out and do something for once, Nora ends up at a coworker’s party, where she meets Julian (Melvil Poupond), her coworker’s French friend, who’s convinced that fate brought them together. And though she tries to chase him away, she has a hard time resisting him.
Broken English isn’t exactly the romantic comedy you might expect. While it has a little bit of romance and a little bit of comedy, this movie is more realistic than your typical Meg Ryan movie. Sure, it shows that love shows up when you least expect it—but it doesn’t always happen when you want it to happen, nor is it easy. The story reminded me of something a wise woman taught me long ago, when I was just another college girl pining for a date for Saturday night—something I had to remind myself later, when I was a single woman in a married world: you’ve got to love yourself before you can expect someone else to love you. You have to be your own person and do your own thing and live your life—and the rest will eventually fall into place.
I was pleasantly surprised by Parker Posey’s performance. Though I’ve never been a fan—in fact, I usually find her to be rather irritating—she’s nearly perfect as Nora. She does a wonderful job of making the audience feel (or remember) what it’s like to be in her position.
Though it’s a realistic story, Broken English isn’t exactly fast-paced. It’s not filled with action or adventure or cheap laughs. And that sometimes makes it feel a little bit slow. It’s also not a story that most guys will be able to understand. But if you’ve ever been a single woman in a world of couples, you’ll be able to relate—in a way that’s not always comfortable. It’s a painful story—but it’s hopeful, too. It’s not exactly a fun film to watch—and thus it probably won’t attract a wide audience—but it’s both beautifully done and brutally honest.
