Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

"Populaire" is finely crafted piece of junk that I could barely watch to the end; and watch it I did, but mostly in the same way that one is rubber-necking when passing a really bad car accident.While the sets and performances manage to give us a kitschy feel of the 60s, everything else falls flat on its face: the story is dull, predictable and forced to the same degree that "Armageddon" was forced. Yes I am comparing this film to "Armageddon" - they both share an important "quality" (for lack of a better word): artificially created drama to keep the story moving. In Armageddon, every time the story slows down too much there is a meteor shower, while in "Populaire" boredom is interrupted by senseless arguments between main protagonists - meteor showers of different kinds.Characters are ill-conceived, their motivations inexplicable, their actions everything but funny, and as a result, the film flows like a stale joke told by a three-year old who forgot the punch-line.Someone said that this is a "feel-good" film. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even if we ignore the overly sexist world of this film in which men are gods and women are ordered around, we are still left with a sadistic boss who never manages to be likable, his little less psychotic secretary whose motivation is unclear to the very end and their family and friends who manage to stay boring despite suffering from severe mental problems.We never get to believe that the main protagonist really wishes to compete in the speed-typing. As a matter of fact, the only reason she accepts the challenge is because it was a condition for her employment. Why would a boss employ an otherwise useless secretary just to have her compete in speed-typing? None of those things make any sense in the film, we are just supposed to accept that speed-typing was a world-class event in the 60s (it was not), that your average boss is crazy about your winning a meaningless competition, and that women were aching to work as secretaries, while male bosses were naturally psychotic, and that all that was fun somehow. To make it harder to suspend one's disbelief, the main protagonist is showed typing in an entirely impossible manner. Normally, actors and directors go out of their way to try and portray such detail with as much realism as possible, but here, the director has thrown caution to the wind, probably in an attempt to make the film less boring; however, it achieved the exact opposite.Here and there it seemed that "Populaire" was meant to be a little quirky, the way "Delicatessen" or "Amelie" was... or maybe I just wished for some redemption for the time wasted watching it. As you may guess by now, that didn't pan either.In the end what we are left with is an inexplicably dumb premise, with shallow characters, leading us on a wild-goose chase of forced emotions and relationships. All in all, one of the worst films of recent French cinema.

This is a French romantic comedy, I enjoyed watching it but it also has some problems. The good parts: The best part about the movie is the nice set design and the costumes. It's great to see a movie that is not set in a contemporary US city like most other comedy movies. I liked the female lead actor.What I didn't like: The two actors don't seem to have real chemistry. Both main leads are supposed to have certain features. She is supposed to be a klutz, he is supposed to appear a bit mean but should be a good man on the inside. This characteristics are used to explain why they act the way they do. Unfortunately the director spends about one and a half minute on these characteristics and that's it.

Populaire (2012)A French comedy, set in the late 1950s, and centering around a typing championship? Yes, bizarre, and warm and funny. I liked it a lot.The star here is the completely delightful Deborah Francois, who is cast and who acts a bit like an Audrey Hepburn type, which is a total compliment. Not that Francois needs that kind of comparison—she takes on the task of learning to type with enormous focus and humble prowess. With two fingers. And she almost wins a competition that way. Enter the other star, a bigger name in France, Romain Duris. He's a comic oddball, meant to be very handsome but not a hunk (sorry Romain). He depends on his wry, underplayed humor to win the hearts of the females in each movie—and in the audience. He takes on Francois with the idea of teaching her to use all her fingers and maybe, with some serious athletic training, compete for the big time. At typing.It's a farce, but overflowing with charm. The sets and colors are wonderful per- 60s "gay" and light. French style. There is an ongoing critique built in (in a watery way) about how women in that era have typing as their ultimate goal. And typing for men. The irony (and falseness) are apparent.There is inevitably a troubled romance that gets stirred in the mix—and it's a classic mismatch made in heaven.In all, well done, funny, and smart. And styling right to the end with the big finale—well, I can't say where or why. See it.

In 1958, the young Rose Pamphyle (Déborah François) dreams on leaving the small village in the countryside of France where she lives with her grumpy father Jean Pamphyle (Frédéric Pierrot), who is a widower that runs a store and wishes that Rose get married to the son of the local mechanic. Rose learns by herself how to type using only two fingers and when she sees an advertisement for a secretary for the insurance agent Louis Échard (Romain Duris) in Lisieux, Lower Normandy, she immediately travels to city.Rose has a bad interview but she impresses Louis typing at very high speed. Louis decides to hire her for a short period of experience and Rose shows that she is a clumsy secretary. But Louis is a former sportsman and he decides to train Rose how to type correctly to dispute a speed typing competition. He brings Rose to his home and she learns how to play piano to help her typing with Louis's childhood friend Marie Taylor (Bérénice Bejo) that is married with the American Bob Taylor (Shaun Benson). She becomes close to his friends and family. Rose becomes the fastest typist in France and now she needs to train to compete in the world title in USA. But Louis, who has fallen in love with her, believes that he is not enough to help her and decides to sacrifice his love to make Rose's dream come true. Is his attitude correct? "Populaire" is another sweet French romantic comedy, with stunning art direction and two of the most contemporary charming French actress, the unknown Déborah François and the lovely Bérénice Bejo that became internationally famous with "The Artist". "Populaire" is not a masterpiece, has ups and downs, but is delightful to see and one of the most entertaining movies that I have seen this year. It is also nostalgic, for experienced viewers like me. Any fan of romantic comedies will certainly love the clumsy but charming Rose Pamphyle. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "A Datilógrafa" ("The Typist")