What can you say about Le Divorce, the frothy new comedy by Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, those tony purveyors of highbrow (and usually excellent) art cinema, who brought us such gems as Howard's End, The Remains of the Day and A Room with a View?

For starters, it's a bit of a welcome departure from the more conservatively decorative period style they usually employ. This is the contemporary story of two sisters, one an expatriate and the other a visitor, living in modern-day Paris. The setting and subject provides an unusually ripe and timely topic and becomes a funny and heartfelt glimpse into the current American/French culture clash. Based on the novel by Diane Johnson, it's the same sort of story we've come to expect in the past from the duo - that of someone traveling abroad, absorbing a new culture and being transformed in a sense - but it's done in a loose, modern style that's refreshing.

As the film opens Roxeanne (Naomi Watts), a sometimes poet and mother, is abandoned by her careless and cheating spouse Charles-Henri (Melvil Poupaud), who happens to come from a wealthy French family led by controlling mother (marvelous Leslie Caron) determined to preserve the family stability.

Younger, wide-eyed Isabel (Kate Hudson) is on a first trip to Paris, settling down in the midst of the turmoil and offering sisterly support before embarking on a sly affair with Roxeanne's uncle-by-marriage, a conservative politico, Edgar (Thierry Lhermitte), while toiling with a younger, more liberal companion (Romain Duris). There's a terrific running joke about an expensive Hermes bag, given to Isabel by Edgar that creates unexpectedly comic ripples in the family.

Isabel gets a job doing administrative work for Olivia Pace (a dowdy Glenn Close), a famous American author also residing in Paris and a former lover of Edgar. As le divorce of the title progresses between Roxanne and Charles-Henri, the family players intersect in amusing ways that illustrate the cultural divide between France and the U.S. This is never more funny or telling than when the American family arrives to settle a divorce dispute over a family heirloom, a potentially priceless painting, led by a wry Stockard Channing and Sam Waterston.

It's nice to see Naomi Watts starting to come into her own as a dramatic actress, following her impressive arrival in Mulholland Drive and the convicted wallpaper she supplied to the b-movie thrills of The Ring. She pulls off a neat trick here, of playing a potentially dark and neurotic character with a lot of light and heart.

But Kate Hudson owns the film, and she walks through the American in Paris plot with such charm, sweetness and good nature that you can't help falling in love with her. Whether she's consoling her ailing sister, casually drifting into a no-frills fling, butchering her French in the local market or just showing off the Hermes with American abroad exuberance, she's a gem. film opens Roxeanne (Naomi Watts), a sometimes poet and mother, is abandoned b

The supporting cast shines with excellent turns by Caron and Channing. The only weak link is Matthew Modine, limited by a narrowly conceived role, playing a dangerous, inept character who doesn't seem at home in this ensemble.

And if there's anything about the film that doesn't work, it's a rather forced and flat-footed late sequence of intrigue atop the Eiffel Tower (though the scene does end on a note of nice magical realism).

The tone of the film veers from comic to tragic - indeed, this is the only comedy in memory that includes adultery, murder and a suicide attempt. And though Le Divorce isn't a perfect movie and doesn't rank among Merchant Ivory's best collaborations, it's certainly colorful, entertaining and well performed.

and cheating spouse Charles-Henri (Melvil Poupaud), who happens to come from a wealthy French family led by controlling mother (marvelous Leslie Caron) determined to preserve the family stability.

Younger, wide-eyed Ivvvidst of the turmoil and offering sisterly support before embarking on a sly affair with Roxeanne's uncle-by-marriage, a conservative politico Edgar (Thierry Lhermitte), while toiling with a younger, more liberal companion (Romain Duris). There's a terrific running joke about an expensive Hermes bag, given to Isabel by Edgar that creates unexpectedly comic ripples in the family.