30 Second Bottom Line: Women who work in a day spa develop relationships which place them at major crossroads of life involving choices in their careers and love lives.

Story Line: Angele (Nathalie Baye) is a beautician and masseuse at an upscale salon in Paris who seems to always pick the wrong man in her life to have a sexual relationship with. Either they don't want her after a few nights of fun, or she does not want them.

The owner of the shop is Madame Nadine (Bulle Ogier) who tends to be aloof and distant with her staff. Marie (Audrey Tautou) is a young attractive woman who earns very large tips from an older gentleman who is a widow. It's clear that at some point he will try to seduce her, and if that happens, the question is, Who is using who? Angele becomes so intrigued with the budding relationship between Marie and her big tipper client that she actually hides in the hedges at his mansion to observe just what they are doing.

Angele finally does develop a relationship, which has true long term potential. One of the problems, however, is that the man is engaged to another woman. When he breaks it off, the fiancée does not readily accept it and starts stalking her former lover and Angele.

Tell Me More About It: We often hear that life is short, which means that we must value each day and treasure our relationships. It also means that we don't have time to waste. Some of the characters here have a vision of life that "life is long". Possibly that explains why the plot tends to move slowly without the benefit of deep thought, reflection, or some type of profound conclusion for the characters to imply or the audience to conclude.

Venus Beauty Institute is a slice of life film in that there really is no beginning or end to the story. We simply visit with the characters for a few days in their lives. While we do come to care about them, I was not able to connect with any real feeling for events that helped to shape the future of their lives.

The ending appears to be upbeat, although sparked with a question of a negative occurrence. My viewing companion thought it ended on a positive tone but I was not so sure.

In many ways the goings on at the beauty institute reminded me of barbershop talk and what I've heard when I've been in a salon, which is to say, you can forget about it as soon as you pay and leave. That sums up how I felt about the film; it was OK to watch but for the most part instantly forgettable.

Angele: Nathalie Baye	Madame Nadine: Bulle Ogier
Marie: Audrey Tautou	Director: Tonie Marshall