Look at Me

Agnès Jaoui’s subtle tale of celebrity and its effects presents itself as a comedy, but if that connotes Will Ferrell, you’ll be disappointed. In Look at Me, Etienne (Jean-Pierre Bacri) is a famous writer whose plump daughter, Lolita (Marilou Berry), aches for his attention. But he prefers the surrounding sycophants, whose adulation gives him license to behave like a major brat. Jaoui’s most compelling theme is how those drawn to Etienne, including Lolita, emulate his nastiest traits. Clearly the director likes her humor more tart than sweet, a choice that distances the audience from the characters. EXTRAS This distance might have been bridged by including some of the deleted scenes, which are more blatant and less intellectual (most notably, one of Lolita singing ”My Heart Belongs to Daddy”); we probably would have ended up laughing more but respecting the work less. The making-of featurette, meanwhile, is even talkier than this already talky film.