Pédale douce (1996)

Director:

Gabriel Aghion

Writers:

Gabriel Aghion, Pierre Palmade (dialogue),

Stars:

Patrick Timsit, Fanny Ardant, Richard Berry

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick Timsit	...	Adrien
Fanny Ardant	...	Evelyne, dite Eva
Richard Berry	...	Alexandre Agut
Michèle Laroque	...	Marie
Jacques Gamblin	...	Adrien Lemoine
Christian Bujeau	...	Dr. Séverine
Boris Terral	...	Cyril
Axelle Abbadie	...	Claire, la soeur de Marie
Facundo Bo	...	Pépito
Arno Chevrier	...	Bibiche
Yan Duffas	...	Fripounet
Dominique Besnehard	...	Riki
Sacha Briquet	...	Emilio
Laurent Spielvogel	...	Francis, l'employé de l'hôtel
Eliane Pine Carringhton	...	Rambo (as Eliane Pine-Carrington)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

adultery | male nudity | infidelity | plastic surgery | homosexual | 

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Taglines:

Mefiez-vous des apparences !

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

27 March 1996 (France)

Also Known As:

Auch Männer mögen's heiß!

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

ITL 68,926,000 (Italy) (28 March 1997)

Gross:

ITL 172,327,000 (Italy) (4 April 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Pédale dure (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Une nuit sur ton épaule"
Written by Véronique Sanson

User Reviews

The Birdcage for the 90's

Twenty years after `La cage aux folles', `Pédale douce' revisits the comedy that has gay characters as main comic devices. Obviously, times have changed, and while the Cage's heroes were hysterical, outrageous `queens', gays in a 1996 comedy need to be more realistic. Here, Adrien and his friends are gay top bank executives who have to deal with Alexandre, a powerful, über-macho client. Because he's in love with Eva, Adrian's best female friend and gay club owner, Alexandre will discover a world he'd known only through the magazines. This is a very rich – sometimes too rich - movie, full of situations, characters and moods, ranging from physical comedy to very moving moments, like the touching and difficult relationship between Adrien and Eva. Though it's very funny, the general tone is bittersweet : everybody in this movie is not exactly what he/she thinks he/she is, and will have to cope, more or less successfully, with this discovery. AIDS looms over the characters. The movie has been criticized for recycling most of the clichés about gay culture (the characters may be bank executives, but they still act a little like the Cage's Zaza Napoli), and for being ultimately conservative (gays remain gays and straights remain straights). Still, Pédale douce is very enjoyable, and wonderfully played, with a special mention for Fanny Ardant as the complex, sensitive Eva.