Samba - C

Rated R, 106 minutes
In French, with English subtitles

The new romantic French drama "Samba" is the new movie from the directors and star of the immensely entertaining 2011 hit "The Intouchables." "Samba," much like that film, has plenty of heart and appealing leads, but it's bumpy script struggles with a meandering story and identity problems. The movie tells of an undocumented kitchen worker battling deportation from his adopted home in Paris. For ten years, Senegalese immigrant Samba (Omar Sy, charming as ever) has stayed under the government radar, taking menial kitchen jobs in the hope of becoming a professional chef. He meets a local immigration worker named Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg of "Terminator Salvation"), a depressed professional with issues of her own, and the two fall for each other while helping each other the possibilities that await them. Co-written by "The Intouchables" Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano and co-directed by Nakache, Toledano and Rafael Gil, "Samba" is a disappointing, uneven affair with a slow, wandering middle act that makes it feel much longer than it really is. Cesar Award winner and "Intouchables" star Sy gives another rich performance as the Senegalese immigrant who moves from one crappy job to the next in hopes of fulfilling his dream as a chef; Gainsbourg is also good as the immigration worker with an instant attraction to Samba. You would think with a title like samba, that it would have more life and excitement like the South American dance does, instead it's talky and slow with some obvious identity problems: part immigration drama, part romantic drama and part buddy-buddy comedy, none of which is fulfilled, especially the romance, which really doesn't take any true shape until very late in the movie (as in the final few scenes). The immigration aspect is the most compelling, and there are some moving moments as Samba dreams of a "house by the lake with all he needs" and some fun moments with his "Arab-Brazilian" buddy Wilson (a memorable, funny Tahir Rahim), including a humorous stint as window washers. Sy's great performance is the best thing about the likable but sluggish French drama "Samba," and you're better off skipping it and renting the much more affecting "The Intouchables," which didn't get its true appreciation here in the States.