French farce master Francis Veber (The Dinner Game) combines slapstick laughs with rapid-fire dialogue as he tells the tale of a Parisian valet unwittingly drawn into the affairs of a wealthy industrialist. François Pignon (Gad Elmaleh) is a simple valet employed by a posh Paris restaurant. Blissfully unaware of the paparazzi stalking powerful businessman Pierre Levasseur (Daniel Auteuil) and his stunning mistress, Elena (Alice Taglioni), the innocent passerby François wanders haphazardly into
the frame. Realizing that the common man in the photograph may be Levasseur's only hope of avoiding a nasty divorce from his wife, Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas), Pierre's quick-thinking lawyer (Richard Berry) arranges for François to live with Elena in order to mislead the tabloids. Having just been dumped by childhood sweetheart Emilie (Virginie Ledoyen), François accepts the proposal, in the hopes he can win her back through jealousy. But Pierre's jealousy flares, Elena grows frustrated with her new digs, and Christine might know more than she's letting on. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Call it a sorbet, a soufflé or an amuse bouche, The Valet is a satisfying antidote to the overload and bombast that run rampant in American movies at this time of the year.
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.
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
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?
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.
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.
This is a quick, and airy film. The plot -a bumbling blockhead pays a valet to shack up with his mistress in order to fool his wife, while at the same time trying to convince the mistress he is getting divorced, This premise doesn't leave much to the imagination, but the dialogue is lively. The supporting characters,
including a doctor who coerces medical care from his patients, adds a real spark to what would otherwise be a conventional story. Cute, and entertaining.
The cast is great, Paris is beautiful, the story is ammusing (if not trite at times).
Gad Elmaleh is (once again) absolutely charming as Pignon, the down on his (romantic) luck valet and Kristen Scott Thomas is great as the wife of the philandering millionaire (Daniel Auteuil).
Unfortunatley things just never seem to
develope fully. I was almost expecting (when the screen went black) to see a "Insert Disc 2" message pop up, but instead the credits started rolling! We even scrolled through all of the credits, in the hopes that they would have one of those little "epilogue" clips that some films tag on to the end. But nothing.
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