The Valet (2007)
68 %
Reviews Counted: 79 Fresh: 54 Rotten:25 Average Rating: 6.6/10
Consensus:
Like much of director Francis Veber's work, The Valet is a witty, madcap farce with memorably zany characters.
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins
Theatrical Release: Apr 20, 2007 Limited
Box Office: $2,172,209
Synopsis: Francis Veber (The Dinner Game and The Closet), the living master of French farce, has combined his classic elements of hilarious slapstick with quick-witted dialogue in the new film THE VALET. The tale begins when François Pignon, (Gad Elmaleh) a restaurant car service valet at a posh Paris... [More]
Genre: Foreign Films
Starring: Gad Elmaleh, Daniel Auteuil, Kristin Scott Thomas, Richard Berry, Virginie Ledoyen
Director: Francis Veber
Screenwriter: Francis Veber
Producer: Patrice Ledoux
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
Screenwriter: Francis Veber
Producer: Patrice Ledoux
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
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Reviews
There are a few extra plot threads that feel like parking spaces that don't quite fit, but the story is squeezed in anyway. I'd still check out the valet.
Comment
12/21/07
A charming if familiar French comedy of manners, again showing writer-director Francis Veber's skillful touch as a farceur, this time with elegant British actress Kristin Scott Thomas and vet Daniel Auteuil, who could have played this role in his sleep
09/18/07
The movie is so tame you may find your mind wandering toward the casting of the inevitable Hollywood remake. (Jonah Hill as Pignon, perhaps?)
09/07/07
I can even see Adam Sandler starring in an American remake. Can't you just see a dopey, befuddled Sandler sharing a lumpy little twin bed with, say, Jessica Alba?
08/15/07
Except for a slightly misguided final scene, LA DOUBLURE (THE VALET) is a great dessert movie: a brisk and breezy romp that will leave audiences smiling.
07/14/07
I kept fantasizing about how great this film would have been if Eric Rohmer had made it.
06/21/07
It's not as outrageous or as hilarious as his best work, but it's still charming, even when it isn't finding the funnybone.
06/20/07
If you're in the mood for Gallic lightheartedness, you know where to go.
06/08/07
One can see Moliére being jealous of the plot line, and Karl Marx applauding. You see capitalists who exploit the masses do not fare too well in this venture.
06/08/07
Veber fills the film with engagingly quirky characters and bright gags that keep it floating along with such assurance that it constantly charms.
06/06/07
Improbable? Perhaps, but one of writer-director Francis Veber's gifts as a farceur is to make the unlikely both credible and amusing.
06/02/07
Veber's dialogue is as witty as ever, and he gets great mileage out of his likable cast, particularly Elmaleh and Taglioni.
06/01/07
The Valet is a trifle with a few good ideas strewn about, but which feels rushed and too flimsy for its own good.
05/31/07
Stereotypes were made to be broken, but don't expect the lithe screwball comedy "The Valet" to change your ideas of Gallic humor.
05/30/07
It's all empty calories, of course, but that's what French pastry -- not to mention popcorn -- is all about.
05/25/07
Top Critic
Shot with the creative energy of a mediocre sitcom, the scenes play out predictable plot devices with minimal creativity and even less risk.
05/22/07
Veber's script is masterfully constructed to increase the laughs as the scheme grows more and more convoluted.
05/19/07
Top Critic
Top CriticRelated Forums
Francis Veber's THE VALET is now skedded for USA theatrical release on April 20th!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/2
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/2
Francis Veber's THE VALET is now skedded for USA theatrical release on April 20th!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/2
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/2
Francis Veber's THE VALET is now skedded for USA theatrical release on April 20th!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/2
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/2
Francis Veber's THE VALET is now skedded for USA theatrical release on April 20th!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/2
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/2
(2007 USA release)-THE VALET gets an early preem @ the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema
by: REEL_REVIEWER 2/12/07
by: REEL_REVIEWER 2/12/07
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