Paris, I love you

Elijah Wood, left, born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is on his way to a news conference about Paris, je t'aimeAudience members in the Debussy theatre before the evening screening of Paris, je t'aime

Paris, je t'aime, consists of 20 short stories, each filmed by a well-known director. Several directors include Joel and Ethan Cohen, Gus Van Sant, Gerard Depardieu, Alexander Payne and Wes Craven. The movie features American actors such as Elijah Wood, Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Nick Nolte and Steve Buscemi.

The stories are separate, meaning that none of the characters or their plots intersect with one another. However, all their stories take place in Paris and deal with love.

Some shorts are basic love stories, while others are much stranger, such as a short, which has Elijah Wood falling in love with a female vampire.

Because of the varied directors, the movie is stylistically uneven -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the shorts I liked, while others I didn't much care for. Either way, it makes the film hard to review as a whole.

I should add that I slept through some of the earlier shorts because of jet lag and had to skip the last few shorts to catch "Fast Food Nation."

3.5 stars.
***
Wayne's star system
1 star --> avoid at all costs
2 stars --> watch on TV when nothing else is on
3 stars --> rent it eventually
4 stars --> must see before you die