"Green Card" co-stars Andie MacDowell, of "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes" and "sex, lies and videotape," and French superstar Gerard Depardieu, easily recognizable to fans of foreign-language cinema as the star of every other French movie that comes to this country - "Jean de Florette," "Camille Claudel," "The Return of Martin Guerre," "Danton," "The Last Metro" - to name just a few - along with the upcoming "Cyrano de Bergerac," for which he won the Cannes Film Festival best actor award.

"Green Card" casts them in a light, utterly charming bit of fluff written, directed and produced by Peter Weir ("Dead Poets Society," "Witness").

The story is simple: A rough-edged French immigrant musician marries a sophisticated New York horticulturist, resulting in his being able to stay in America and her getting into a rent-controlled apartment with an atrium.

They don't know each other, they don't really even like each other very much, but, of course, we know they will fall in love.

Though Weir has come up with some pleasant situations, not much of this is unfamiliar territory. There are predictable mistaken-identity gags, fish-out-of-water gags, miscommunication gags - yet, no matter how easy it all seems, the stars make it not only palatable but really very enjoyable.

In fact, sheer star power has seldom held a film together so well. "Green Card," rated PG-13 for a few cuss words and vulgar remarks, is delightful most of the way.

Bebe Neuwirth, as MacDowell's best friend, has some amusing moments, and Robert Prosky is also good, though he is, regrettably, in just a single, short scene.

But the film's one real misstep for me was the ending, when Weir, for some reason, feels the need to inject a moment of reality into what has been, up to that point, a fluffy fairy tale. It does not ruin the film, however.

Depardieu and MacDowell are delightful together and "Green Card" is a real treat for anyone who enjoys light romantic comedy. And judging from the success of "Ghost" and "Pretty Woman," that covers a fairly broad spectrum.