The Original Vs. The U.S. Version

With the exception of the very catchy cover of "Heart on Fire," (hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOk_edjCNFI) the U.S. version pales in comparison to the original French film. That said, both films tell essentially the same story, which is fairly formulaic. The bottom line: after a nasty breakup, Lola (aka Lol) finds herself falling in love with her best friend, who happens to also be her ex's best friend and bandmate.

It's evident that the filmmaker, Lisa Azuelos' interest is the tumultuous relationship between the mother and daughter. In the French version, there's a tagline that the movie is based on a true story. In both versions, the relationship is very dramatic and laden with hysterics.

In considering both the angsty teen romance and the angsty mum/daughter, it is the latter which is the film's most significant.That said, there is something seriously off, even mildly disturbing about the version with Demi Moore/Miley Cyrus (and this is said, discounting their all-too-publically personal celebrity).

Sophie Marceau is simply lovely, and her pathos and challenges, in, actually, physically and emotionally separating from her ex-husband (Lola's dad) is nuanced. The simplest way to state this: both Moore and Cyrus (again, seriously, the distraction of their star status aside) are just much less credible. Their chemistry isn't there.

There's something brittle about both of them. Initially, I thought it was just Moore, but Cyrus, too, is so edgy. They both "rock" that gravely voice and between that, and their delivery, it just doesn't work. You can't like either Moore or Cyrus -- their portrayals depict the characters as simply too narcissistic, for the audience to appreciate what this "mother and daughter" are going through. They are both grating. It is not a situation where they're both so annoying and awful it become divisive and it throws the story off kilter. They equally draw the audience away from the story, and the movie.

Clearly Azuelos wants the audience to "see both sides," of a mother/daughter battle, and in the U.S. version, you cannot care for either of them.

Even though it tells the same story, it is much easier to have empathy for Marceau and the French "Lola," Christa Theret. One way of explaining this is that they are simply sweeter -- and better actresses.

It is the same story in both versions -- and if you don't mind an unsurprising obvious romantic comedy -- whether you buy it or not, whether you're interested or not, lies in the credibility and likability of the leads.

For those interested in the differences:

Ashley's Greene's character goes on the trip to Paris, and her counterpart in the French version (who in no way physically resembles Greene's take) doesn't. It's probably because Greene is a bit of stunt casting (even in 2010 when the film was made), so replication wasn't necessary.

The class trip to Paris in the U.S. version is a class trip to England in the French version.

Lola's best friend Charlotte is cast with actresses who very much resemble each other and their portrayals are very similar.

In the U.S. version, Charlotte's secret boyfriend is, frankly, creepy (the actor is a dancer, apparently, and they should've incorporated that into the film), and in the French version, he's quite cute (like a French Michael Angarano)

On the field trip, the French house mother (in the U.S. version) is obsessed with Joan of Arc, even naming her daughter Joan and decorating her entire house with memorabilia. The English house mother (in the French version) is obsessed with Princess Diana, and her child and home outfitted accordingly.

The trig teacher/tutor in the American version is more involved in a sub story, than the French one.

You get why the French cop takes to Lola's mother (their relationship is believable); but much less so the younger, hot Latino cop in the U.S. version.

The ages of Lola's younger sibs is also slightly different.

Lola's ex and current beaus look so much alike in the French version it's initially hard to tell them apart. In fact all the boys in the French version appear to be dark haired and fair skin, with only tiny variations.

The order of when Lola's mother finds and reads Lola's diary is a little different in each.