Take director Roman Coppola's debut film -- a rather stunning example of how limited experiences and narrow vision can be used to compel audiences to flail away at their genitals with high-powered electric kitchen utensils. This film is actually about a film editor in Paris in the late 1960's who's working on a sci-fi film while also making a documentary filled with the mundane details of his everyday existence. So, there are two films within a film in this movie -- an insider's delight. Couldn't Roman just stand up at a party and announce that he hung around the set of "The Godfather" when he was two and spare us from this "hey, look at me" kind of crap?

Paul Ballard (Jeremy Davies) is the angst-ridden editor who finally gets his shot at directing when the director of "Dragonfly," Andrzej (Gerard Depardieu), flips out and the director tabbed to replace him, Felix de Marco (Jason Schwartzman), has an accident. As Paul sits on the toilet filming himself, going through an existential crisis that seems about as deep as a contestant on "Fear Factor" debating whether to eat a pig uterus, we're forced to confront the sad fact that young Coppola actually missed the rise and fall of that whole "think outside the box" catch-phrase. If only someone had whispered that to him when he was working on his movie about movies.

Of all the things young Coppola can think to do, he decides to illuminate the fact that the real world is a lot more relevant than the fantasy world of filmmaking. He does this by having Paul fall for the female star (Angela Lindvall) of the sci-fi film and ignoring his actual girlfriend, Marlene (Elodie Bouchez). It's not exactly shocking when Marlene disappears. What is shocking is that Paul is surprised, which must mean that young Coppola thinks it's surprising. The intent here is obvious. When this film bombs in the states, Coppola will present it to the French who will love it just because it bombed over here. The French can have it.