The Annoying Exchange French

I've been playing the "Lastrank Gambit" against the exchange French with decent results in bullet games.    I doubt it's sound but it's interesting and fun (sometimes).  

The "Lastrank Gambit" is 1.e4 e6  2.d4 d5  3.exd5 c5.  In some variations black wants to trade queens even though he's a pawn down.

If anyone wants to experiment with it I'd be interested in your results and impressions.

The exchange French is why I quit the French. You have two options in it. 

1) Play "best moves" which tend to be symmetrical and mind-numbingly boring. You hope white goes for something sub-optimal or wait for them to blunder down the line. I lost a lot when white just plays sound because the symmetry would slowly drive me insane. I did well when white tried to create an imbalance prematurely. 

2) Make a concession to white in order to make an imbalanced game either with an early c5 to get the IQP, or aiming for a quick Queenside castle. Thing is white is a tempo up on you with an identical position, so if they're wise to your game they will be a bit better. You get a fighting game though where you can outplay your opponent. For me I did well with this approach at lower ratings, but it faded at higher ratings. 

After a lot of shopping around for black responses to e4 I keep coming back to the Sicilian. e6 Sicilians (Kan, Taimanov) share structure similarities to the French, but you'll never face the accursed exchange again. 

It seems useful trying c5 ideas against 3Bd3 because the bishop isn't well placed for playing against the IQP, so looks fully sound. Just have to work out why called schlechter gambit, because neither side seems to be gambiting anything.

Hello French players.   I am reporting back after practicing opposite side castling vs the exchange French for a few months.    This game represent well my new favorite pattern.  

 Because of this tread and with some practice I am now smiling when they exchange

White's play is highly inferior.  This game is NOT a reliable source for the validity of playing this way.

The Bishop has ZERO business being on e2.  It should go to d3, which completely changes the game.

I find "pre-planning" queenside castling to be HIGHLY suspect.  The symmetrical setup is extremely reliable, and do you want to know the real trick to winning these against anybody under 2300?  Study your minor piece endgames!  Particularly N vs N, NN vs NN, NN vs NB, and OCB endings come up the most frequent.  Occasionally you might get B vs N or SCB endings.

If I am facing a 2400, I have no objection to taking a draw.

If you are really desperate to break the symmetry, then the best line, as pfren also points out, is 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 c5 (Do not ever play this c5 move before the White Bishop is moved - if White delays it, like 5.Nc3 or 5.Nbd2 or 5.Bg5 or 5.h3, avoid ...c5 and play something else, like 5...Bd6, and therefore, even if it is not your main weapon, it is best to at least know the ideas in the symmetrical lines, and once again, master your minor piece endgames!