Paulette is Bernadette Lafont's swansong. She moved into spirit a year or so after its completion aged 74. And yet in this; a tale in which a pensioner in an unnamed "banlieue" decides to sell drugs to pay her debt provoking the hilarity of her French Arab and Black neighbours as this little old lady approaches them with her business proposition ... it will also provoke the viewer's ... Lafont is arguably one of the most important French actresses of the 60's 70's and up to the end; she embodied the spirit of Punk before the word even meant what it meant in 76/77. There are photos of her in the early 60s in which she has short hair and black nail-varnish looking like a proto Siouxsie Sioux; but her spirit was always antagonistic irreverent at-odds with the status quo and the bourgeoisie she came from. The film is by no means a masterpiece; but as a swansong from such a great actress she is here as magnetic as she was in La Maman et La Putain or Une Belle Fille Comme Moi

While the intro to our main character might not be as powerful as in the animated "Up", you still get a feeling for a character that will be very difficult to identify with at first. It's a grandmother who is really naughty and seems to hate everyone and everything. But the actress is so good with a script that is really more than fine, that you do care in the end.You might already know where this is going (sort of), but it's really fun to watch how we get there. The french keep it real (as much as possible), with added story lines, that do not feel that they disrupt or corrupt the main story. It actually adds to it, in small but very funny pieces. I can only recommend this if you like naughty comedies

From an early synopsis for "Paulette", I thought it was just a french remake of "Saving Grace". But while some of the gags actually share their genes, the movie as a whole is a different beast; the comedy aspects are there (and quite funny) but there are many instances where the scenes suddenly turn violent or awkward - life in the suburbs is portrayed in a realistic manner (at least for a comedy) and Paulette's situation (financial, social, health ...) is far from rosy. Paulette herself, played to perfection by Bernadette Lafont in her last screen appearance, is a mean, weasely character, racist and overall as politically incorrect as possible. The retiree is down to her last coins and barely managing to survive when she gets the opportunity to enter the local drug market - she grabs that opportunity and, through craftiness, ruthlessness and luck, makes it nearly to the top. But Paulette has to change not only her life but her self if she is to survive - she's desperately in need of all those she alienated in the past.Since it's a comedy, the ending is nice, but "Paulette" leaves more than just a sweet aftertaste. Recommended!

This is the French take on the surprisingly popular story of "staid grandmother becomes dope peddler". In this case: A widow hankers back to her personal belle époque when she ran a successful restaurant with her husband. Now, her husband's drunk himself to death, Asians have taken over her restaurant, her daughter is estranged and money's too tight to mention. The once lively Paulette has become lonely and depressed and blames it all on the immigrants. In true Ayn Rand spirit, Paulette then decides to use her entrepreneurial skills and sell the old ganja, even if this means cooperating with -- well, the very same criminal immigrants she dreads so much.The story is fairly linear and takes few twists and turns, but because of the great dialogues and great acting, it's nevertheless entertaining. Like a great dish, if it tastes great you won't complain just because you've had it before. And like chocolate, I like my movies the better the darker they come.