Ariane's Thread (2014)

If you think Molly Ringwald’s character had it bad when her folks forgot her birthday in the coming-of-age comedy Sixteen Candles (1984), meet Ariane (Ariane Ascaride) in Ariane’s Thread (2014). Also known as Au fil d’Ariane, Robert Guédiguian’s French flick follows a woman faced with an existential crisis on her birthday. Ariane has spent weeks preparing for a big party at her country house, but when the day arrives, all of her friends cancel on her. Rather than sitting home alone, she gets in her car and heads into the city. Her plan is simple: get lost in the metropolis and see what she can discover about herself. Along the way, she (and we) encounter a taxi driver (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), an actress (Anaïs Demoustier), and a night watchman (Youssouf Djaoro). After her purse is stolen, the birthday girl winds up in a seaside town without cash or her phone! Luckily, a young dude (Adrien Jolivet) on a motorcycle befriends her. One thing leads to another and the next thing you know Ariane is happily working in a restaurant run by a grouchy guy named Denis (Gerard Meylan). Of course, he can’t be too mean since he lets her sleep on his boat. Ariane then meets Lola (Lola Naymark) who struts her stuff in the buff on the shore. Indeed, she bares her breasts and bearded clam when emerging from the water. As the built blonde lays down to soak up some sun, she exposes her hot buns. Talk about a beach bum!