R. Ignacio Litardo
"It's the eyes of the beholder". Yes, sure, but does it matter? François Pignon seems to be able to do nothing well in life. Until, by an accident of fate, and a bright neighbour, formerly an enterprise psychologist, they find out how to avoid the bad news, get to know who's who in his family and work colleagues, and get the reins of his own life, which seemed to be a robot's.Michel Aumont is a fantastic actor, so natural it makes you tremble. Without him, the film just wouldn't exist. Yes, Auteuil is also fine as a likable looser. When he "squints like a gay", he really does something ... unusual. Like on a Rorschach test, it just takes an ambiguous image for us viewers to project who we really are. The envious co worker, the racist macho, the brainy one who plays with other people's feelings like if they were chess pieces, the bright beautiful competitive blonde which rightly suspects from the start, the boss who wields power but just doesn't want trouble, the bright African who also has mixed feelings about the white majority, his stunning but sour & selfish ex wife, their aloof frivolous teenager, in short, the human comedy. Balzac would be proud.Pignon, like his neighbour's kitten, is probably too grey to be distinguishable from most people we know. If there's something reassuring in this comedy that takes place at a fake condom factory is that we could all change. If only ...Veber, director of "The dinner game" and of lesser works, is at his best here. While stereotypes abound, they are probably forced upon us to make the "clockwork orange" of gags work relentlessly. At that it succeeds admirably.Pure enjoyment!PS: Kudos to the nicest kittens I've seen on a film :).
lastliberal
Poor François Pignon is boring. When a staff reduction becomes necessary, he will be let go. Pignon is played by Daniel Auteuil, who I really liked in The Valet. He is one of the top French actors, having won a BAFTA and two Césars out of 12 nominations.He is commiserating when his meets his neighbor Belone, played by Michel Aumont, who has three César nominations himself for supporting roles, and was also in The Valet. He has a solution to Pignon's problem.Belone does some digital magic and sends photos to Pignon's office to make everyone think he is gay. The head of the company, played by Jean Rochefort, who has two Césars himself is afraid to fire him now, especially since they make condoms and don't want to offend some of their customers. Gérard Depardieu, who has an Oscar nomination, two BAFTA nominations, and an incredible 14 César nominations, with two wins, is the office homophobic, who must befriend Pignon out of fear of being fired himself for political incorrectness.Four of France's finest actors in one film is a real pleasure and a guarantee that it will be interesting.It really doesn't get into gay jokes. It is more about how people change. Depardieu is hilarious showing how sensitive he can be as his coworkers prod him to be more accepting.The film gets funnier, as his female co-workers believe the photos are fake and try to prove it.The company decides to use him and they put him on a float in the Gay Pride parade wearing a condom hat.Pignon may not be gay, but he turned into an interesting man after everyone's expectations of him changed. he even connected with his son. It was so funny.
Lee Eisenberg
So often, we think that French cinema likes to be purely artistic that it seems like they can't do comedy. Well, I've seen two French movies that made me nearly die laughing: "Les Visiteurs/The Visitors" and "Le Placard/The Closet". This one portrays a man (Daniel Auteuil) about to get fired, but he makes himself look gay so that it could come across as job discrimination. It leads to a series of unexpected consequences, natch.A lot of the movie seems like it's just an excuse to be silly. But watching the movie, one can definitely feel the European flavor: strong women, sexual humor coming in surprising places, and other such things. And of course, this flick affirms that Daniel Auteuil and Gerard Depardieu are two of the greatest actors of our time. Above all, I wish to assert that it's always great from time to time to see a movie not afraid to do anything it wants. Really funny.I swear, it seems like I've seen Gerard Depardieu in more English-speaking roles than French-speaking ones. Then again, I do live in the United States.
MartinHafer
This is a funny film about a bland man (Daniel Auteuil) who is about to be fired from his job. Contemplating suicide, his new next-door neighbor convinces him not to and comes up with a scheme to prevent the firing--pretend to be gay and then they will be afraid to fire him for fear they will be accused of discrimination. This is especially bad in the eyes of the company chairman because it is a condom factory and they do NOT want to scare away all their gay customers. The job is saved, but a long series of events (good and bad) result in major unforeseen changes--some of which are very funny (such as his being asked to ride on the condom float at the gay pride parade) and some are pretty poignant (his getting beaten up for being gay). As a result of this and good writing, the film isn't predictable and is a lot of fun. Be assured, though, that this movie is not campy and over the top, nor is it super preachy--a nice mix that will satisfy anyone.PS--Gerard Depardieu plays a VERY unusual role in the film--at first you hate him and then it becomes pretty weird--just watch and see.
AD
