Audrey Lamy "Dernières avant Vegas" - French comedy that works

It might be more than stating the obvious, but humour is a personal thing, isn't it?

You either find something funny or you don't.

That said though, when you live abroad and regardless of your language skills or knowledge of cultural references, it can be especially hard to grasp what those around you might find amusing.

For example, if you've ever flipped on the television remote control and watched one of the country's many, many stand-up acts, or have been invited along to the theatre to "enjoy a live show" you might well have found yourself wondering what the heck everyone in the audience was laughing about.

Sure there are some acts out there who raise more than a smile or two as soon as they leap on to the stage, but it's rare to find one as appealing and immediately engaging as actress and comedienne Audrey Lamy.

Audrey Lamy (screenshot from "Dernières avant Vegas" video)

She might not be at the top of her profession yet, but on recent evidence...Lamy's getting there.

Her face might be familiar to some of you. The 32-year-old is one of the stars of M6's runaway early evening comedy show "Scènes de ménages", which features short sketches from the daily lives of four couples.

Lamy appears as "Marion", a 30-something who lives with her other half Cédric (played by Loup-Denis Elion) in a studio apartment.

The short sketch format on TV seems to work well in France and of course helped launch the career of Lamy's older sister Alexandra when she appeared alongside her now-husband Jean Dujardin in France 2's "Un gars, une fille".

A talented family, obviously.

Back to Lamy - Audrey that is - though, who has just come to the end of a one-woman show she has taken around the country over the past three years with not just one, but three dates at the much-revered venue of Olympia in Paris.

As soon as she bounces on to the stage, it's difficult not to be won over.

Lamy engages immediately with the audience, has extraordinary energy which doesn't slow down over the course of one-and-a-half hours and the most infectious of laughs.

There are some magical moments, especially her love affair with a Brad Pitt bottomed frying pan - the sort of sketch that's short, silly and universal enough to appeal.

And there are clear signs that the woman is most definitely multi-talented as alongside the comedy, she also manages to belt out a tune and dance.

If there are any criticisms to be made it would be the need to tighten up some of the material and increase the range of characters she portrays.

Some of the sketches seem overlong with the punch line sometimes being repeated a little too often.

And while Lamy comes across as self deprecating, slightly cranky and a little too loud, it occasionally seems a little to familiar to "Marion" - the role she plays on television.

Lamy has depth and acting ability - evidence of that was on show in her roles in the hit movies "Tout ce qui brille" and "Polisse", films - it just doesn't always come across in her one-woman show.

OK so you've missed her tour in France, but hopefully Lamy will be back with some new material shortly.

And for those who fancy it, there's one date still left to play - in Barcelona on May 25.

In the meantime though, take a look at the accompanying videos for an idea of Lamy's humour.

In the first, she parodies Brad Pitt's dreadful Chanel No. 5 commercial.

The second is a supposed casting (in Franglais) in front of US director Quentin Tarantino - whose name she never quite manages to pronounce correctly - for the role eventually given to fellow French actress Mélanie Laurent in his film "Inglourious Basterds".

Finally there's the blue rabbit...well see for yourselves.

Mélanie Laurent - France's latest singing actress

Mélanie Laurent has released her debut album, En t'attendant.

So what? You might be thinking. Well the fact of the matter is that she's not really a singer - well at least not until now.

And some are not sure that Laurent really is, even after the release of her debut album on May 2.

Mélanie Laurent (screenshot from clip En t'attendant)

The 28-year-old is an accomplished actress and already has one César (the French equivalent of an Oscar) under her belt as most promising actress in the excellent 2006 film Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas.

Since then Hollywood has sat up and taken notice and she secured the role of Shosanna Dreyfus in Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds.

Laurent has also written and directed films; one of them, De moins en moins, was nominated for Best short film at the 2008 Cannes film festival, which brings us full circle as she'll be maîtresse de cérémonie at both the opening and closing of this year's cinematographic extravaganza on the French Riviera.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, Laurent has also managed to pack in recording her debut album En t'attendant.

The two-year project with the Irish musician Damien Rice resulted in what Laurent calls, "The fulfilment of a childhood dream."

"I didn't wake up one morning and think 'Hey I think I could be a singer'," she says.

And that's probably just as well because the impression you could have of some French actresses throughout the years is that they have had exactly that thought.

The list of those who've had a stab at treating the rest of us to their vocal cords includes (among many, many others) Catherine Deneuve, Brigitte Bardot, Isabelle Adjani, Jeanne Moreau, Sandrine Kiberlain, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Vanessa Paradis.

Some, such as Gainsbourg and Paradis, have made the transition back and forth without any problem.

Others - well perhaps it would have been better had they stuck to their day job.

So which camp does Laurent belong to?

Well reviews for her album have been mixed.

There has been praise for Rice's arrangements and the strength of his voice (on two duets) but doubts cast on the quality of Laurent's and her ability to deliver.

"The album is beautifully made...and often seductive," says Radio France Internationale.

"But Laurent needs to impose her personality more in her voice."

And that's a point of view picked up by Frederic Le Rouzo writing for the French website Le Post.

He applauds Laurent's approach describing it as "simple and modest" but at the same time the impression the listener has, "is of a flat voice, banal...one which does not transmit emotion or make us dream."

"One can only wish her a continued acting career in which she will easily find success," he concludes.

Ouch!

Laurent hasn't taken such criticism well and reacted angrily in an interview with the regional daily Le Berry républicain during Le Printemps de Bourges.

She was appearing at the music festival shortly before the release of her album..

Laurent lashed out at journalists saying that they seemed only too willing to criticise and that it didn't seem to matter someone in the public eye said or did, there were those only too willing to find something disparaging to say.



You can judge for yourselves by listening to the title track of the album.

And cast an eye over the comments from those who really count - potential fans.

Some are enthusiastic but other are far from being gentle with the suggestion that the last thing France needs is "another Carla Bruni-Sarkozy" soundalike.

Ooh. That's a little below the belt.