La doublure (2006)

Director:

Francis Veber

Writer:

Francis Veber (writer)

Release Date:

29 March 2006 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A new comedy from the writer/director of The Closet and The Dinner Game

Plot:

A porter and a top-model have to pretend to be a couple in order to salvage a CEO's marriage.

Plot Keywords:

Valet | Supermodel | Couple | Ceo | Model

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Gad Elmaleh	...	François Pignon
Alice Taglioni	...	Elena Simonsen
Daniel Auteuil	...	Pierre Levasseur
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Christine Levasseur
Richard Berry	...	Maître Foix
Virginie Ledoyen	...	Émilie
Dany Boon	...	Richard
Michel Jonasz	...	André Pignon
Michel Aumont	...	Le médecin
Laurent Gamelon	...	Paul
Patrick Mille	...	Pascal Bouliveau
Michèle Garcia	...	Louise Pignon
Philippe Magnan	...	Berman
Jean-Yves Chilot	...	Hervé
Irina Ninova	...	Marie

Also Known As:

The Valet (International: English title) (USA)
La boulette (France) (working title)
Una Top model nel mio letto (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language.

Runtime:

France:85 min

Country:

France | Italy | Belgium

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | USA:PG-13 | Romania:A.G. | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Boulogne-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company:

Gaumont

Trivia:

Near the end, the father of François Pignon tells him that he is invited to a dinner to talk about his corkscrews collection. This is a reference to another Francis Veber movie, Le dîner de cons (1998), in which a likable idiot (also called François Pignon) is invited to a dinner on the pretext of talking about his match constructions.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the president yells at Francois and his lawyer hang up the phone, you can see that the CISCO IP Phone is not even working and has the wrong date. There is no way someone would have been able to make a phone call using that phone.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le tournage de 'La doublure' (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Happy birthday to you

Pleasantly Surprised

I'm 50/50 on foreign films as subtitles often give me tired-head. Having said that, this film is surprisingly witty, well-paced and in the spirit of La Cage Aux Folles or Victor/Victoria - without musical numbers.

If you've seen and enjoyed the original or foreign versions of The Monster, Night on Earth or the aforementioned La Cage Aux Folles or Victor/Victoria you shouldn't be disappointed. Like most recent releases it's long on closeups and two-shots yet lacks intimacy - which is OK for comedies of the ilk. And in the final analysis, the spirit of wacky comedy is clearly presented in a way that only the French conceive.

While not the pinnacle of Veber's cinematic achievements, it's certainly no bust. By comparison, the American master of this genre, Blake Edwards, has had his fair share of hits and misses and I could easily see him directing the American version.

In a nutshell, it's a nice little date rental - cute romance with a touch of culture and a lot of humor.