Susan Granger’s review of “Seducing Doctor Lewis” (Wellspring Release)
If you enjoyed “Waking Ned Devine,” “The Full Monty” and “Local Hero,” this is also a charming comedic tale. Set in the tiny village of Sainte Marie-La Mauderne, accessible only by boat in northern Quebec, it’s about a community’s struggle for survival after its fishery closes. Week-after-week, the hardy-but-now-hopeless, out-of-work men line up for welfare checks; even the mayor moves away in shame. Until, one day, enterprising Germain Lessage (Raymond Bouchard) decides to launch a campaign to attract a small plastics factory. In order to do that, the town needs its own resident doctor. Through a bit of chicanery, Dr. Lewis (David Boutin), a plastic surgeon from Montreal, appears. He’s there for a month and the residents must seduce him to stay. Their provincial schemes are as eccentric as they are effective. Discovering he loves cricket, they organize a sham match for his arrival. They leave $5 bills on his path, so he’ll think the island’s magical. They tap his phone to learn helpful hints like his joy in fusion jazz and taste for Beef Strogonoff, which is then featured at the town’s only restaurant. Complications occur when the frantic locals must wheedle a $50,000 bribe to compete with a neighboring town and somehow convince the visiting factory rep that their population is double the actual inhabitants. Director Jean-Francois Pouliot and screenwriter Ken Scott have fashioned an amusing, feel-good fable, more genial and modest than a flat-out farce, yet propelled by gentle, idiosyncratic characters. While it’s formulaic, it’s also utterly beguiling, accented by Jean-Marie Benoit’s score. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Seducing Doctor Lewis” is a whimsical 8. In French with English subtitles, it’s a gem.
