Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
M.Pignon Opens Closet: Funny French Comedy about Sexuality, November 24, 2002
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.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An archetypal French farce, glittering with star power., September 16, 2001
Francis Veber, the King of French Farce, keeps cranking 'em out at a rate that would boggle even the mind of Georges Feydeau. His latest, "The Closet," features nebbishy accountant Francois--mocked by his colleagues, abandoned by his wife, dissed by his son and about to be fired--who schemes to keep his job by pretending to be gay. Francois' gay psychologist neighbor advises him not to change anything about himself--what will change is other people's perception of him. That's not the only thing that changes in Veber's smoothly written, surefire-as-clockwork farce. Francois' life ends up changing in unforeseen ways, as do the lives of the people around him--particularly that of Santini, the homophobic personnel manager who must suddenly play up to Francois in order to keep his own job. All sorts of crazy complications ensue, and the denouement is appropriately sunny. "The Closet" won't change your life, but it will leave you feeling happy, and you will marvel at the sheer star power lavished on this lightweight tale. Daniel Auteuil and Gerard Depardieu, France's answer to Kevin Spacey and Robert De Niro, play Francois and Santini; in the supporting cast are Thierry Lhermitte, Michel Aumont and Jean Rochefort, which is roughly equivalent to having Richard Gere, Gene Hackman and Michael Caine in the supporting cast of an English-language movie. These superb professionals know exactly what is required of them, and deliver it gift-wrapped. As crazed as the comedy gets, it is the quiet individual moments that will really leave you rolling in the aisles: whether it's Auteuil's sick embarrassment at sitting on a Gay Pride float wearing a condom hat, or Depardieu's blissed-out, zombie stare as his world crumbles around him, you know that you are in the hands of master farceurs.
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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Comes on strong but finishes weak., July 17, 2001
A rubber company that specializes in manufacturing condoms is downsizing, and Francois Pignon (Daniel Auteuil) is about to be laid off. Pignon is an extremely ordinary and dull person, and no one can think of a good reason to keep him on. Also, he is still in love with his ex-wife and tries to be a father to his estranged son, but neither of them return his affection. Getting his pink slip sends Pignon into a short-lived depression, when his new neighbor hatches a scheme to help Pignon keep his job. Belone, the neighbor, doctors some photos of men in a gay bar--putting Pignon's face on one of the men--and sends them in an anonymous envelope to his employer. He tells Pignon to not even worry about acting gay; just stay the same, he says, and everyone around you will alter *their* behavior. The main objective is, of course, to scare a condom company out of firing a gay man, and as expected, all manner of hilarity ensues.
Director and screenwriter Francis Veber's "The Closet" rides the wave of international success stirred by his 1998 film "The Dinner Game" without providing as well-structured or as consistent a story. The first half of the film is every bit as funny as the setup to "The Dinner Game," supplying nearly a dozen fascinating characters (all wonderfully acted by a superb ensemble cast), and promising much. Part of concept of the film deals with shifting the focus from Pignon to the people around him. Unfortunately, in an 80-minute film, Veber is unable to complete even a minimal story arc for each character--which leaves the film feeling somewhat disjointed in the end.
Perhaps it is to Veber's detriment, in a film like this, that he writes such consistently fascinating characters; if the characters were less intriguing, the audience would not protest when one of them disappeared or suddenly and inexplicably turned into a simple caricature. For example, Gerard Depardieu plays Santini, an office homophobe who must begin to "play nice" with Pignon or risk losing his own job. For a while, this relationship promises the sort of intense character interaction at which Veber excels. Soon, however, Santini undergoes a comic but inexplicable personality change and is marginalized from the film. Santini's role in the story is replaced by a smattering of vignettes which show other office workers being alternately cruel and kind toward Pignon.
Additionally, like Veber's previous film, "The Closet" obtains its comic premise from a social injustice. This film, however, is slightly more blatant in its message-oriented nature. In message films, an audience often has to endure forced dialogue--sometimes even entire forced scenes--which are not organic to the piece. While "The Closet" is not as preachy as it might have been in the hands of another director, the occasional sermonizing does detract from the film.
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