An amiable French buddy comedy, “Bicycling With Molière” is worth a ride.
The great character actor Fabrice Luchini plays a struggling, slightly bitter loner retired from acting in a chilly seaside resort town. He receives a surprise visit from the glamorous star (Lambert Wilson) of a cheesy TV series who wants to return to his roots with a stage production of Molière’s “The Misanthrope.” The TV actor fondly remembers the pair’s chats about Molière on a set long ago and suggests co-starring in a new production.
Thin gags about bikes, Jacuzzis and vasectomies aside, the movie is engaging in the many rehearsal scenes in which the 17th-century dialogue obliquely reflects the lives of the lead characters. Not many surprises are in store, but the film’s affection for the dramatist is pleasing. In French, with English subtitles.