If "Reines d'un jour" (literally "Queens for a Day", also known as "A Hell of a Day"), were a good film, it might perhaps be renamed as "French Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown".
It tells of a day in the lives of four ordinary people living in Paris, whose stories run parallel and who casually meet and interact. In particular, it is about women obsessed by their complicated relationships with men, and who have a hard time finding love, happiness, or at least safe sex without unplanned consequences, either in marriage or in adultery!
Unfortunately, "Reines d'un jour" is not a good film. Do not believe the favorable reviews; it is a boring, clueless, bad film. It annoys viewers with poorly written dialogs, uninteresting characters, and unfunny attempts at irony.
To be fair, there are a few (not many) almost enjoyable moments, and some of the subplots have the potential to make a good story, perhaps, in other hands. However, even the catchy ideas are not developed properly, and the film never takes off. In the end, there is only disappointment left. It could have been fun, but it was not.
Some of the actors, such as Karin Viard, who plays Hortense, are not inexperienced. I guess they might be good in other movies. Too bad their performance is rather wasted in this inconclusive French production. As for the "magic" of Paris, with its usually beautiful scenery of the River Seine and so on, in this movie there is too little of it even to make a nice Paris "postcard".
In conclusion, even if you are searching for a silly yet entertaining date-flick about the follies of love in modern times, do not waste your money or your time with this dull movie, because of its absolute lack of wit, humour, or real feelings. My vote is 3 out of 10, but my girlfriend, who saw the film with me, gave it a 2.
