AllMovie

Two young ladies from France attempt to scale the ladder of Parisian society, but find that the new social circles have unexpectedly negative consequences, in this gentle, observant drama from first-time co-writer/director Geraldine Nakache. Close gal pals Lila (Leila Bekhti) and Ely (Nakache) may technically be "working class," but both hail from pleasant and stable families, in the quiet neighborhood of Puteaux, just outside of the City of Lights. The allure of the Paris elite is too strong for the women to resist, however, and they begin to pick up tips and tricks from a women's magazine on how to infiltrate haute society. Each girl carves a unique path for herself: Lila meets wealthy Maxx (Simon Buret) at a bar and attaches herself to him. Ely, on the other hand, takes a job babysitting the son of fashion photographer Agathe (Virginie Ledoyen) and her top model, Joan (Linh-Dan Pham), which means that the young woman gets to spend countless evenings with the child in a gorgeous apartment that boasts a spectacular view of The Eiffel Tower. But the new social circles begin to take their toll, both on a familial level - as when Ely's cabbie dad (Daniel Cohen) gets humiliated in front of his daughter's new friends - and on a romantic level, as when Lila lies to her Puteaux boyfriend about her real motives. And to make matters worse, the friendship between Lily and Ely begins to strain and crack under the pressure of each woman's headstrong social advancement.