Alice Taglioni, Daniel Auteuil, Gad Elmaleh

When billionaire Pierre Levasseur is snapped by a papparazzo with Elena, his dazzling, supermodel mistress, he tries to avoid a catastrophic divorce by coming up with an outrageous lie. He asserts to ...( read more  read more... )his wife that a third person, a passerby, François Pignon, who is also on the photograph, was in fact with Elena. She's Pignon's girlfriend not his. Pignon is a parking valet. He's a very ordinary fellow. Levasseur, to back up his lie, has to convince the overly beautiful Elena to go live with Pignon. Elena, shacked up with Pignon, is a bird of paradise in an apartment in the sticks. It's also a load of comic situations for The Valet.

Flixster Users

67% liked it

8,181 ratings

Critics

69% liked it

80 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Francis Veber

Release Date: March 12, 2007

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DVD Release Date: September 18, 2007

Stats: 815 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (815)


  • April 14, 2009
    Francis Veber at its purest, most entertaining, harmless state. So light on its feet it barely touches the ground. It isn't Veber's best film by a long shot, and it isn't anything to leave an extra-large tip for, and you're not going to dent your sides laughing. But it is French ...( read more)comedy at its easiest to handle, starring beautiful, sheerly talented people, and for some, that's all that it needs to be.
  • May 29, 2008
    The cast is great, Paris is beautiful, the story is ammusing (if not trite at times).

    Gad Elmaleh is (once again) absolutely charming as Pignon, the down on his (romantic) luck valet and Kristen Scott Thomas is great as the wife of the philandering millionaire (Daniel Auteuil)...( read more).

    Unfortunatley things just never seem to develope fully. I was almost expecting (when the screen went black) to see a "Insert Disc 2" message pop up, but instead the credits started rolling! We even scrolled through all of the credits, in the hopes that they would have one of those little "epilogue" clips that some films tag on to the end. But nothing.
  • March 30, 2008
    The Valet is such a funny foreign film. Kristin Scott Thomas whom was great in The English Patient co-stars in this comedy.

    A valet is caught in a taploid magazine beside a famous model whom is having an affair with a very wealthy man that is also in the picture. In order to ...( read more)not get divorced the model and valet must con there way to prove they are a happy couple whom live together...it is too funny.
  • October 28, 2007
    A great movie, its in French with English subtitles, but a very funny movie. Alic Taglioni could become a favorite female actor real fast, I'm free for dinner. Worth the rent.
  • November 6, 2009
    "Smart, funny, and romantic...all in one movie"
  • November 5, 2009
    It was alright.Something different
  • October 14, 2009
    Relatively entertaining. Gad Elmaleh was a bit whiny in a Ray Ramone kind of way.
  • September 9, 2009
    C'est bien une comédie à la Weber... ;) :P
  • March 5, 2009
    so entertaining when in french (in french class) typical romantic comedy but soo much more fun with the ever lovely subtitles and realization that you can understand much of what they are saying (-:
  • February 6, 2009
    It was fun, but I didn't like the ending, he should have ended up with the other girl.

Critic Reviews


May 11, 2007
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

You have the slightest of romps, and one that ends so abruptly that you suspect the prolific Veber had already moved on to his next project. full review

May 4, 2007
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

We can count on farce, and on Veber, to ensure that everyone ends up where they should, and The Valet resolves itself most satisfyingly, in its tidy 85 minutes. It's a formulaic comedy that feels fres... full review

May 4, 2007
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Tart and weightless, and it entertains without leaving a mark. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but at 85 minutes, The Valet at times feels like a blueprint for a farce rather than the farce... full review

April 27, 2007
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

At 80 minutes long, it's that rare case of a short film that should have been longer. And that's its problem: It really should have been longer. full review

April 23, 2007
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

To be honest, The Valet does not show Veber at his best. full review

April 20, 2007
Kyle Smith, New York Post

The situation delivers less wackiness than it promises, and there aren't a lot of big laughs. Charm fills the void, though. full review

April 19, 2007
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Veber, clearly a fan of the golden age comedies of Billy Wilder, Howard Hawks and Preston Sturges, is a worthy successor. full review

View more The Valet (La Doublure) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • WrellikW
    August 11, 2008
    I loved this movie! Especially the doctor; he's hilarious!!! Watch this one; it's a good one. I never give more than 3 1/2 stars to a comedy, but this one got 4 1/2 from me, it's that good; it's cute.

    Take care all,
    William
    Zzzzzooooommmm!

    "It is easy to be brave, from a distance." -American Indian Proverb-

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