Julie Delpy brings a bit of her "Before" experience to the excellent and personal 2 Days in Paris, a similarly dialogue-heavy dissection of romance and relationship set in the city of lights. Delpy not only wrote, directed, stars in, and scored 2 Days in Paris but she cast her real parents as her fictional ones and her real ex-boyfriend, Adam Goldberg, as her romantic (or not so much) co-star. The behind-the-scenes details alone make 2 Days in Paris a must-see for fans of independent film. The fact that it's a confident, well-written romantic comedy, a rarity in the genre, should make fans of any kind of film happy.

2 Days in Paris tells the story of a two-year-old couple, Marion (Delpy) and Jack (Goldberg), who live in New York but after a two-week vacation in Venice have to spend a few days with Marion's family and friends in Paris. While they walk and talk through the streets of one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Jack learns a few new things about his girlfriend, mostly from all the ex-boyfriends they encounter. 2 Days in Paris plays with the common "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus" theme of romantic dramedies but adds a hilarious cultural twist. French women may be from Jupiter.

What makes Delpy a great writer (an Oscar nominee for such as a co-writer of Before Sunset) is both her refusal to submit to the cliches of her genre or country and her ability to completely understand the way men and women speak to each other. Marion and Jack may be from different planets but they're at that age when you don't settle but you may forgive more than you did when you were younger to try and make something work. That's a tough thing for a writer to put into film and Delpy, who is now a multiple threat in the world of film, pulls it off perfectly. The film has only a minor flaw in that it doesn't feel too believable that a two-year-old couple wouldn't have run into the problems of Marion and Jack much earlier in their relationship (they should have only been three to six months old) but that's about it. If you're a fan of well-crafted dialogue and characters, you'll thoroughly enjoy 2 Days in Paris, the rare, intellectual rom-com.

The DVD for 2 Days in Paris looks and sounds great but comes with only limited special features. A commentary by Delpy and maybe Goldberg would have been nice but fans will find a fun interview with the luminous star/writer/director and some extended scenes. The underseen film itself is likely to be the focus for most fans picking up 2 Days in Paris, so the lack of "ultimate edition" special features isn't that unusual. It's the best new romantic comedy on DVD for Valentine's Day this year.