The Valet with Gad Elmaleh: DVD Cover
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The Valet
a.k.a. La Doublure Director: Francis Veber Cast: Gad Elmaleh, Alice Taglioni, Daniel Auteuil, Kristin Scott Thomas

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  • DVD Release Date: 09/18/2007
  • Original Release: 2006
  • Rating: Rated PG13
  • Sales Rank: 16,652

Viewer Rating: (2 ratings)

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  • Overview
  • Editorial Reviews
  • Scenes
  • Customer Reviews
  • Cast & Crew
  • Full Product Details

Scenes

Features

The Making of Valet; Director Commentary.

Full Product Details

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Valet
1. Nice Toy [3:30]
2. Doctor For the Doc [3:07]
3. The Ring [2:43]
4. "Open It" [2:52]
5. Feeling Guilty [3:10]
6. V.I.P. [3:45]
7. Strictly Confidential [3:03]
8. New Roomate [2:23]
9. Tidy Sum [2:40]
10. Don't Park It [3:54]
11. Up the Ante [3:05]
12. "What Sign is She?" [2:43]
13. Being Nosey [3:56]
14. Pick Up the Pieces [1:10]
15. She'll Call [1:57]
16. Broken Promises [4:23]
17. Snuggle [3:27]
18. Imagination Runs Wild [1:52]
19. Fashion Show [3:29]
20. Not Divorcing [1:55]
21. New Curtains [4:29]
22. Men Are Creeps [3:30]
23. Hidden Talents [2:00]
24. Korine [2:45]
25. Recorder [3:48]
26. Proposal [2:33]
27. The Truth [3:17]
28. Feeling Blue [3:40]

Scene Index

Editorial Reviews

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, All Movie Guide

Customer Reviews

  • Viewer Rating:
  • Ratings: 2Reviews: 2

Valetby Anonymous

Reader Rating:
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September 20, 2007: For centuries the French have had the market on light, elegant, stylish, fluffy and tasty comedy, both in the theater and on film. Unfortunately THE VALET (LA DOUBLURE) doesn't rise to those standards. Though written by Francis Veber, who gave us the 'La Cage Aux Folles' series and 'La Placard', seems to understand the genre as well as anyone, the script for this much-used story is bland and lacks the sparkle and inventiveness of Veber's successes. The tale is one of marital infidelity: a wealthy man Pierre (Daniel Auteuil) is married to elegant and intelligent Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas) and having an affair with top model Elena (Alice Taglioni) for two years. Elena is demanding Pierre divorce his wife or she will leave him and Pierre fears the financial repercussions of divorce. Enter a simpleton valet François Pignon (Gad Elmaleh) who is hopelessly in love with bookstore owner Émilie (Virginie Ledoyen), the daughter of his father's strange physician who is more concentrated on salvaging her business than on paying attention to François's romantic overtures. Accidentally François walks past Pierre and Elena on the street, is captured by the tabloids, and when Christine sees the picture the infidelity is questioned: Pierre seeks his lawyer's advice and the tow plot to have Elena live with François to foil Christine's suspicions. Of course the loser François and the gold digger Elena learn from their roles and the story grinds to a rather silly ending. The cast is excellent but just doesn't ignite sparks on the screen. We are left with characters for whom we have little sympathy, and where is comedy if we cannot find at least one player to support? It is a pleasure to see the beautiful Kristin Scott Thomas toss off a French role with such aplomb, but the talents of the others rarely rise above the mediocre - and that is amazing considering the quality of the cast. A disappointing film. Grady Harp

Valetby Anonymous

Reader Rating:
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August 27, 2007: This is one sly film: fun plot, perfect setting, and top-of-the-line performances.