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List Price: $19.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 7449
Released: September 18, 2007 |
| Our Price: $2.53 |
| Used Price: $2.52 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
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 hotel gets caught-up in a billionaire industrialist's sneaky infidelities. Veber's plot quickly turns on the fall guy, when François – an innocent passerby - is photographed by a paparazzo leaving the hotel along with Pierre Levasseur (Daniel Auteuil), the wealthy tycoon and his beautiful supermodel mistress Elena (Alice Taglioni.
In a desperate attempt to avoid an ugly divorce with his wife Christine, (Kristin Scott Thomas) Pierre's scheming lawyer Maitre Foix (Richard Berry) concocts an outrageous plan. By paying the valet a large sum of money to live with Pierre's mistress, the two men hope to mislead the tabloids and most importantly hide the affair from his wife. Meanwhile, the ruthless Pierre must convince the stunning Elena to live with François in his cruddy apartment until the dust settles. All the while, continuing to reassure his wife that the other man in the photo, François, is really Elena's boyfriend.
Francis Veber's intricate and lively plot, tick-tock timing and variety of unusual characters make The Valet a hilariously good time.
Description of The Valet (La Doublure):
A light, zippy farce from Francis Veber (writer/director of The Closet and The Dinner Game), The Valet is another masterful comic escalation of lies and pretenses. When a billionaire (Daniel Auteuil, Cache, The Eighth Day) gets photographed next to his supermodel mistress (Alice Taglioni), he tries to persuade his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas, The English Patient) that the supermodel must be with the other man in the picture--a parking valet (Gad Elmaleh) who just happens to be walking by. Naturally, the billionaire has to follow through by setting the valet and the supermodel up as a couple, lest his wife's detective uncover the truth. The valet agrees, but not because he wants to cozy up to the beautiful girl; he hopes that the money he'll be paid will win the heart of the bookstore owner he's in love with (Virginie Ledoyen, The Beach, 8 Femmes). The sneaky machinations of the characters multiply and cascade with delicious results, particularly the hapless envy of the valet's best friend (Dany Boon, My Best Friend). The Valet isn't quite as brilliantly orchestrated as The Closet (some of the plot threads feel underbaked), but it's still sly and wonderfully engaging. Don't judge Veber by the hamfisted Hollywood remakes of his films Les Comperes and Le Jouet; Veber's films have a deft sweetness that American filmmakers just can't recreate. --Bret Fetzer
The Valet (La Doublure) Reviews:
Rent, Don't Buy 
2009-10-31 - This is a film you will watch only once. It proves that the French will laugh at anything.
Within the first 10 minutes, you know the ending of this movie. As another reviewer said, it is very predictable.
Basic Plot: Homely looking guy (the valet) wants to marry homely looking girl (book store owner), but she doesn't love him. He is more of a brother to her. Until -- she see's him dating a Super Model. Now she wants him. Talk about shallow. The Super Model is the mistress of a married billionaire, who has promised her that he will divorce his wife and marry her. The wife suspects he has a mistress, and to throw her off the scent, he has the Super Model date the valet -- actually live with him. This does not fool the wife. Etc, etc, etc. No surprises, no chuckles, only yawns.
The script has way too many holes in it, even for a French "farce". Three stars for the French scenery.
A Delectable French Comedy with Heart 
2009-09-27 - Veteran director Francis Veber's has assembled a marvelous cast for this truely delightful French comedy concerning love, life and the complicated infidelity of a powerful billionaire CEO "Pierre Levasseur" (Daniel Auteuil) who is cheating on his equally powerful corporate wife "Christine Levasseur" (Kristin Scott Thomas) with France's top supermodel "Elena" (Alice Taglioni).
The story quickly & fully envelops a goodhearted, average Joe, Parisian restaurant parking attendant "François Pignon", nicely played by (Gad Elmaleh), who is paid to only pretend he's having an affair with glamorous supermodel "Elena", but "Pignon" is deeply in love with his childhood sweetheart "Émilie" (Virginie Ledoyen, a top French print & TV model in real life for most of her life).
Gad Elmaleh shines as the love-sick, poor schnook, coupled with valet co-worker & sad-sack, former roommate "Richard" (Dany Boon), who are both a delight to watch, as "Richard" really begins believing his coworker "Pignon" has become an incredible ladies man with the nation's top supermodels.
Accomplished French actor/director Richard Berry superbly plays the part of the rich CEO's crafty lawyer "Maître Foix", the one who convinces "Pignon" to be paid to let the real Karl Lagerfeld's number one supermodel "Émilie" to appear with him as a loving couple in the press, in order to take the heat off his billionaire client's, very suspicious, equally crafty wife.
The colourful Parisian background and wonderful lively film score by Alexandre Desplat are pleasurable co-stars in this charming comedy.
The DVD's special features includes a 45 minute documentary 'The Marking of The Valet' which will keep you laughing hard with all the re-takes, especially between, the film's supermodel "Elena" (Alice Taglioni), in various scenes with star Gad Elmaleh and co-star Dany Boon. There are also a number of movie trailers for other Sony foreign films.
"The Valet" was retitled from the French "La Doublure" or "the stand-in".
This is the type of enjoyable comedy film worth viewing a few times.
Simple moral
2009-09-14 - A funny comedy emphasises a simple immortal morale of immoral money bags having forgotten (or never heard) The Beatles' "Can't buy me love" : the male CEO depending on his wife's shares made up a story of affairs between his mistress and an ordinary Parisian.
Well, everyone has own luck on own social shelf even in the Fourth Republic.
Pray Hollywood does not get hold of this
2009-06-06 - Nothing heavy here. Just a lovesick car parking attendant who, through unusual circumstances, ends up paid to live with a super model. If this was made here, Adam Sandler would be parking the cars and the model would be just as beautiful but nasty as a hornet. Leave it to the French have the right touch to make this sweet and funny little story.
Original comedy that well deserves your attention!
2009-05-18 - "Valet" constitutes a well rounded and poignant comedy that deals with those unsaid and veiled infidelities of a wealthy executive supported by the solid financial aid of his wife. On the other hand, we have the other side of the coin: a looser who makes his living as valet in a luxurious hotel in front of the Eiffel Tower who has been rejected buy his everlasting love.
The twist of fate will make both men have to share a little agreement that involves the top model of the moment (the alluring Alice Taglioni).
So, here you have the main ingredients of this entangled and funny movie that ends with an acidic finale.
