The Valet (2006)

Writer/Director Francis Veber created a sweet and highly amusing film with The Valet even with it's absurdity. Valet Francois Pignon is hired to portray the boyfriend of the highest paid model in the world, Elena, after he's caught in a paparazzi photo of Elena with billionaire Pierre Levasseur. Levasseur is trying to hide his affair with Elena from his wife, a majority stakeholder in all his businesses. Pignon has just been rejected by the woman he's loved his entire life, bookstore owner Emilie, so he's not really in the mood for pretending to have a fabulous supermodel girlfriend.

Part of the reason the absurdity works is because the characters acknowledge it themselves. Another reason is that behind it all, is a genuine portrayal of relationships which comes from a great combination of the script and the actors who all hold their own. Gad Elmaleh is incredibly sympathetic as the valet Pignon and he has great friendship chemistry with Alice Taglioni who plays the very Heidi Klum-esque (i.e. sweet and beautiful) supermodel. In fact, nearly every character is likable in some way. Kristin Scott Thomas, in beautiful fluent French, is fun to watch as the clever and strong wife of Levasseur.

Overall, it's a fun movie to watch with laugh out loud moments and appeal for American audiences despite the spoken dialogue being French.

Rating: 4/5
Recommended for: Anyone 12 and up (even if you hate the French).