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Reviews
Le placard (2001)
Excellent French farce, reminiscent of early (funny) English farce
The whole film revolves around Daniel Auteuil who plays Francois Pignon (some may remember this as the name of the hapless individual in L'Emmedeur, also a man whose wife left him), a man who works for a condom manufacturer and whose wife has left him as she considers him very boring. He is also estranged from his teenage son who also considers him boring and too set in his ways. He is due for redundancy from his firm after 20 years service, but his next door neighbour (who is a homosexual cat lover) befriends him and shows him a way a way not to lose his job, by pretending to be gay. This is when the real fun starts with great moments from Gerard Depardieu as the homophobic bully from HR, who originally wants to hurt Francois but eventually begins to fall in love with him, as does his boss, his son and his wife (but it is too late for her).
L'emmerdeur (1973)
A gentle French comedy of errors
I liked this film, not really belly laugh funny, but the situation comedy that Lino Ventura and Jacques Brel get themselves into, can be very humorous. Ventura plays an assassin who is trying to do a job, however he gets caught up with Brel's annoying and suicidal hypochondriac, foiling his attempts, by trying to commit suicide in the room next door to the room Ventura is in to do the hit. This causes the police to be called to the hotel. When they arrive however, Ventura persuades them that Brel is a friend and he will look after him and get him back on his feet. He decides to get rid of Brel, so that he can continue on his original task, but then ends up helping him to settle the score with his wife, who has left Brel for a rich medical doctor and that is when the real fun starts...!