Customer Reviews
Veber's Look At Society And Sexuality - By: DL Productions UK, 05 Apr 2008 
Daniel Auteuil is Pignon, a man who's considered to be boring, straight laced, & rather uninteresting. When Santini (Gérard Depardieu) & his friends suggest Pignon should be sacked - Pignon decides to end it alll. It's only because of a new found friend he finds a way to fool the masses at the condom factory & keep his job.
This isn't as funny as Le Diner De Cons nor Tais-Toi; but they're classics & it's hard to follow such a great act, but it's a very good film, Gérard is very funny as macho man Felix, & the welcome return of Thierry Lhermitte, one of Felix's friends. I also enjoyed the roles played by his secretaries: Michèle Laroque (Madame Bertrand) & Alexandra Vandernoot (Christine), as they had some great lines. Also good to see star of L'homme Du Train, Jean Rochefort, as he's a great actor.
The film does have some moments where it's not as good, but otherwise this is funny from start to end. I like the way Veber makes a commentary on people's attitudes to sexuality & differences, in a country that boasts Liberty, Fraternity & Equality. Thought it was very funny the way they changed their minds, & I can see that happening in real life too.
Excellent movie, shame about the extras, or should I say non-existing extras, yeah it's just a trailer on here, so it's not much to get excited about.
CLOSE To perfect - By: Melina B., 08 Jan 2008 
i think the reviewer below who wants more 'madcap' moments & 'chaotic energy' should watch La Cage Aux Folles & is missing the subtlety of this entire film; anything other would be a recipe for ruining this gentle portrait of Pignon, a broken man, which builds up into a hugely satisfying, poignant yet very funny film (the brevity of the laugh-out-loud moments being their strength - some moments stay with you long after they have ended). Depardieu's character, Santini, has plenty of chaotic energy brewing if that's the way to describe the unfamiliar feelings that slowly turn the hulk of a man into a fruitbasket. So in response to that reviewer again, you can't have full-on Molieresque farce AND care about every single character, that would be a contradiction. Santini, though a main character, IS on the edge of being 'flimsy', & any more hysterical moments from Depardieu & i wouldn't have cared so much; as it was, I loved his pathetic vulnerability & the relationship between the two men at the end endeared Santini to me. I watched this film one night, then again the next night with my other half. And would gladly watch it again tonight. The comedy is balanced & controlled in such a way as to alllow real feeling for the 3 main characters (Pignon, Belone - his gem of a neighbour - & Santini) & the interferences from alll the other characters cause the ensuing knock-on effects to cascade into 3 personal triumphs that jolly & uplift us (plus the acting is excellent). As for caring about the other characters, we're not supposed to bother about great depth of feeling for Pignon's son, for instance; Pignon is the catalyst & we care more that the relationship mends fully for his sake, which is about the only question left realisticallly & unsentimentallly open-ended as the film closes. Anyway, a well-woven farce with some briliantly subtle comedy & sensitive characterisation alll seamlessly blended. (I'm keen to meet alll the other Francois Pignons of Francis Veber's films now ...)
Don't buy for Panasonic players - By: Mr. Di Rogerson, 29 Oct 2007 This is a superb french farce. By pretending to be gay a company missfit avoids redundancy as discrimination.
I managed to watch a poor quality copy recorded from late C4 television but on 4 different occasions was unable to buy one that would play on either of my panasonic players
entertaining - By: P. E. Wall, 29 Oct 2007 I also enjoyed this film .In places it made me laugh out loud & made gentle fun of the atmosphere of political correctness which dogs so many of our societies today. At times of course it was a bit unbelievable, but this can be the delight of an entertaining film that can actuallly leave you with a positive feeling. The characters were beautifully portrayed & I would recommend it to most of my friends.
you've got to laugh - By: tu nombre es, 31 May 2007 In short It made me laugh I don't care about it being PC or whatever.When I want to watch a "serious" film I will. This is the sort of film I will watch when I want to laugh.
