The Closet
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.99 You Save: $9.99 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.24 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Closet
Movie Review: homosexuality has advantages
Summary: 5 Stars
hilarious comedy, worth every minute you are struggling to understand the french language, subtitles are greatMovie Review: A very funny film!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an original film, plenty of laughs and smart situations. Possibly the finest comedy in years.
Movie Review: M.Pignon Opens Closet: Funny French Comedy about Sexuality
Summary: 4 Stars
You may not know the name of French director Francis Veber, and his funny French comedy "The Dinner Game" (1999), but if you are fond of comedy, you might have seen the films like "Father's Day" and "Birdcage." Yes, the last two Hollywood outings are actually remakes of his works, and though not all of his films are masterpieces, "The Closet" alone would make you remember his name. This film is that funny.Daniel Auteuil is M. Pignon, who has been working for a condom factory as an accountant for 20 years, now he happens to learn that he is going to be fired. Shocked by the news, he thinks of jumping from the window to kill himself when an old man living in the next room gives a tip; "pretend you're gay." For political reasons (and commercial ones too) the company cannot fire him as they are afraid of being accused of having discriminating attitudes. It succeeds, and M. Pignon is happy ... for a while.
Because unexpected things happen like chain reaction; "sexual harrassment" from his beautiful female boss (she has her own reason), sexual advance from his co-worker and rugby coach (he has his own reason, too), and so on. The story goes on with twists and turns, finally leading to the confidence newly established in M. Pignon.
Though the ending is not as good as it should be, and some parts are a bit incredible, the cast is so great that those flaws are all ignored in the end. Daniel Auteuil's dead-pan humor is always effective, and funniest is his face when he is in a parade wearing a huge tip of condom on his head. Also humorous is Gerard Depardieu, whose character experiences a total transformation.
"The Closet" has some satire on our attitude about sexuality, but it doesn't preach them. Rather, the film handles them with a lighter tough, which avoids the pitfall of being too gloomy or philosophical. The fact is, the film is too light for some; and clearly the director hesitates to push some interesting points the film presents. But "The Closet" should be about M. Pignon, who, just like the protagonist of the same name in "The Dinner Game," is about Mr. Everyman. His journey to a new life is what we see, and we enjoy watching. As such the film succeeds, and it is because of fantastic Daniel Auteuil.
Movie Review: Light Comedy with a Conventional Heart
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Closet," ("Le Placard," 2001) a French comedy/drama, was written and directed by Francis Veber, and stars Daniel Auteuil (The Valet (La Doublure)), so skilled at playing a beleaguered everyman, as Francois Pignon, a man who discovers he is to be fired at his job. His ex-wife and son want nothing to do with him, just keep the checks coming please, and he's so colorless, he's already the invisible man at work. But, with the aid of his neighbor Belone, played by the veteran French actor Michel Aumont (The Woman in Blue), Pignon cooks up the tale that he is homosexual, thereby preventing his employers from discharging him, due to anti-discrimination legislation. Felix Santini, a macho coworker who harasses Pignon until he begins to worry about his own job safety, is played by the wonderful Gerard Depardieu (Green Card). The bemused boss of the company, Kopel, is played by another French veteran, Jean Rochefort (Mr. Bean's Holiday Gift Set). And there's a featured performance from a darling little gray kitten.
The movie is set in modern-day Paris, but largely in its suburbs and office parks, which we don't really get to see very often over here. People live in apartment blocks, and drive cars; office parks have parking lots. It's nicely filmed, and gives us an interesting world. Plus, it's warm, charming, and funny, though extremely light, and funniest the first time around. But it's utterly conventional at heart. There's no doubt that, somewhat disappointingly, it actually puts credence in the sexual stereotypes it's been kidding: but, hey, it's a comedy, and a funny one.
Movie Review: Pretty funny French film about stereotypes and sexuality
Summary: 4 Stars
The premise of this movie is that a competent but quiet and unexciting accountant (Pignon) is getting fired for no particular reason except someone has to go and he's considered expendable, being something of a zero in the eyes of his employer and coworkers. The opening scene says it all when he willingly is omitted from the annual company photo of the staff: he will not be missed by anyone. Pignon is very depressed and considering ending it all when his new neighbor on the adjoining balcony intervenes. The neighbor has an idea to help him: he should pretend he's gay and then his employer will be too concerned about "correctness" to fire him -- they'll bend over backwards to pretend they're not prejudiced. The neighbor (a retired industrial psychologist) doctors up some photos with the head of the accountant (Pignon) and the bodies of some gays entering a gay night club. These are sent anonymously to Pignon's boss, and quickly are photocopied and spread throughout the company. The president quickly decides it would be a very bad strategy to fire Pignon, because these days, they wouldn't want to alienate the gay market, particularly since they make condoms.
It sounds like a thin one-joke movie, but the actors are good enough that it's quite amusing and doesn't drag. Gerard Depardieu (a very funny guy) plays Santini, the captain of the company rugby team who is aggressively heterosexual and makes disparaging remarks about gays constantly. He's warned that he better buddy up to Pignon (by coworkers who are basically playing a joke on him) or else he'll get fired. Subplots involve Pignon's relationship with his ex-wife and estranged son. There is a very funny scene of Pignon in a gay pride parade.
The whole film is made less obnoxious by an episode involving gay-bashing (violent) that makes it clear that the subject is really rather serious, even if the film is funny.