Synopsis
Caught by tabloid paparazzi with his mistress Elena, a famous and beautiful fashion model, billionaire Pierre Levasseur tries to avoid a divorce by inventing a preposterous lie. He uses the presence of a passerby in the photo to claim to his wife that it's not him Elena is seeing but the other man, one François Pignon. Pignon is a modest little man who works as a parking valet. To make the story convincing, Elena has to move in with Pignon.
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Cast
- Gad ElmalehFrançois Pignon
- Alice TaglioniÉléna Simonsen
- Daniel AuteuilPierre Levasseur
- Kristin Scott ThomasChristine Levasseur
- Richard BerryMaître Foix
- Virginie LedoyenEmilie
- Dany BoonRichard
- Michel JonaszAndré Pignon
- Michel AumontDoctor
- Laurent GamelonPaul
Recommendations
- 91
Entertainment Weekly
A satisfying contraption of twists, missteps, and blithe repartee that produces old-fashioned, honestly earned guffaws. - 90
Los Angeles Times
A complete master of cinematic farce, Veber's latest venture, The Valet, makes creating deliciously funny comedy look a lot easier than it has any right to. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Francis Veber's latest offering, remains faithful to the formula -- broad farce leavened with witty dialogue -- that has made him France's most bankable comedy writer-director and a surefire hit with international audiences. - 80
The New York Times
If you love to hate the superrich, The Valet, a delectable comedy in which the great French actor Daniel Auteuil portrays a piggy billionaire industrialist facing his comeuppance, is a sinfully delicious bonbon. - 70
Variety
Layers of intrigue mesh with Hollywood-style efficiency, pitting sincere feelings against ruthlessly mercenary machinations. Also in Hollywood style, sincerity and integrity carry the day. - 70
Village Voice
Of all of Francis Veber's farces (The Dinner Game, La Cage Aux Folles, etc.), this is the one that feels most like a sitcom pilot, which is to say it's a farce most forced. - 63
Premiere
Its punchline, imagining the worst that could happen to Auteuil's slimy exec, is weak and kind of dumb, but the rest of the film is genial, appealing, and brisk. - 63
New York Post
As always in Veber's films, the predictability is part of the fun.
