La doublure (2006)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Francis Veber

Writer:

Francis Veber (writer)

Release Date:

29 March 2006 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A new comedy from the writer/director of The Closet and The Dinner Game

Plot:

A porter and a top-model have to pretend to be a couple in order to salvage a CEO's marriage.

Plot Keywords:

Valet | Couple | Supermodel | Ceo | Adultery

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Gad Elmaleh	...	François Pignon
Alice Taglioni	...	Elena Simonsen
Daniel Auteuil	...	Pierre Levasseur
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Christine Levasseur
Richard Berry	...	Maître Foix
Virginie Ledoyen	...	Émilie
Dany Boon	...	Richard
Michel Jonasz	...	André Pignon
Michel Aumont	...	Le médecin
Laurent Gamelon	...	Paul
Patrick Mille	...	Pascal Bouliveau
Michèle Garcia	...	Louise Pignon
Philippe Magnan	...	Berman
Jean-Yves Chilot	...	Hervé
Irina Ninova	...	Marie
Philippe Beglia	...	Le maître d'hôtel
Noémie Lenoir	...	Karine
Sandra Moreno	...	Secrétaire Levasseur
Jean-Pol Brissart	...	Mauricet
Philippe Brigaud	...	Monsieur Hervé
Alexandre Brik	...	Ken, le maquilleur
Thierry Humbert	...	Paparazzi
Paulette Frantz	...	La mère de Richard
Thierry Nenez	...	Perrache
Karl Lagerfeld	...	Himself / Lui-même
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Hoehn	...	Francois Pignon (voice)

Directed by
Francis Veber

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Francis Veber		writer

Produced by
Patrice Ledoux	....	producer
Francesco Pamphili	....	co-producer
Francis Veber	....	associate producer
Candice Zaccagnino	....	executive producer: Columbia Pictures

Original Music by
Alexandre Desplat

Cinematography by
Robert Fraisse

Film Editing by
Georges Klotz

Casting by
Françoise Menidrey

Production Design by
Dominique André

Art Direction by
Benoît Bechet

Makeup Department
Laurent Bozzi	....	key hair stylist
Joël Lavau	....	key makeup artist
Fulvio Pozzobon	....	key hair stylist
Gill Robillard	....	key makeup artist
Estelle Tolstoukine	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Yann Arnaud	....	unit production manager
Philippe Desmoulins	....	production manager
André Labbouz	....	post-production supervisor
Bernard Seitz	....	production manager
Tourdjman Valentin	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carole Breteau	....	assistant assistant director
Olivier Falkowski	....	second assistant director
Alain Olivieri	....	first assistant director
Jordan Santoul	....	assistant assistant director

Art Department
Lionel Callari	....	property master
Thierry Carini	....	construction coordinator
Hervé Guignot	....	key carpenter
Yvan Hart	....	head plasterer
Pascal Leguellec	....	assistant art director
Sophie Loncq	....	upholsterer
Danielle Mainard	....	set dresser
Antonio Nogueira	....	dressing props
Frédéric Pesquer	....	upholsterer
Thierry Doerflinger	....	plasterer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bernard Bats	....	sound
Pierre-Yves Bruneel	....	assistant sound
Pascal Chauvin	....	foley artist
Vincent Cosson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Thomas Desjonquères	....	supervising sound editor
Séverin Favriau	....	assistant sound editor
Gérard Lamps	....	sound re-recording mixer
Alain Lévy	....	post-synchronization
Armelle Mahé	....	foley recording engineer
Françoise Maulny	....	post-synchronisation assistant (as Françoise Maulny-Lévy)
Franck Tassel	....	assistant foley artist
Isabelle Tat	....	post-synchronisation assistant
Jean-Alexandre Villemer	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Arnaud Chelet	....	visual effects supervisor
Jacques Delzescaux	....	digital artist
Roxane Fechner	....	visual effects set supervisor
Émilie Feret	....	visual effects coordinator
Yannick Folliard	....	visual effects coordinator
Marc Latil	....	digital artist
Malika Mazauric	....	digital artist
Frederic Moreau	....	visual effects designer
Raymond Terrentin	....	digital colorist

Stunts
Philippe Guégan	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Stéphane Agostini	....	electrician
Yves Agostini	....	camera operator
Dominique Delguste	....	additional camera operator
Patrick de Ranter	....	Steadicam operator
Steve de Rocco	....	second assistant camera
Alain Herpe	....	first assistant camera
Jean-Claude LeBras	....	gaffer (as Jean-Claude Le Bras)
Steve Moreau	....	additional first assistant camera
Yvon Sausseau	....	key grip
Christian Thurot	....	generator operator

Casting Department
Franck Jouard	....	extras casting
Géraldine Mouton	....	extras casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marie Bouvier	....	costumer
Florie Vaslin	....	wardrobe
Alice Vieille de Vivaise	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Viviane Gourvest	....	assistant editor
Charlotte Mazzinghi	....	dailies color grader
Gerard Savary	....	color timer
Raymond Terrentin	....	colorist

Music Department
Michel Jonasz	....	composer: additional music

Other crew
Martine Audouard	....	assistant script supervisor
Martine Bourdon	....	assistant administrator
Ghislaine Cauet-Martinotto	....	production assistant (as Ghislaine Martinotto)
Sandra Cornevaux	....	press attache (as Sandra Corneveaux)
Romain Courtine	....	location manager
Françoise Della Libera	....	production administrator
Dario Faniglione	....	assistant to production manager
Marie Kerhoas	....	production assistant
Alexandra Schamis	....	press attache
Isabelle Thévenet	....	script supervisor (as Isabelle Perrin-Thévenet)
Bernard Vander Donckt	....	production administrator

Thanks
Karl Lagerfeld	....	very special thanks

Production Companies

• Gaumont
• EFVE (co-production)
• TF1 Films Production (co-production)
• Kairos (co-production)
• Artémis Productions (participation)
• Sofica Sogécinéma 4 (participation)
• Banque Populaire Images 6 (participation)
• Canal+ (participation)
• CinéCinéma (participation)
• Programme MEDIA de la Communauté Européenne (participation)

Distributors

• Gaumont International (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Gaumont (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• Gaumont/Columbia TriStar Home Video (GCTHV) (2006) (France) (DVD) (special edition)
• Alfa Films (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Christal Films (2006) (Canada) (all media)
• Divisa Home Video (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Odeon (2007) (Greece) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Athalys  post-production facilities
• Chanel  special thanks: models and collection designed by Karl Lagerfeld
• Lanvin  costumes: Daniel Auteuil and Richard Berry
• Yves Saint Laurent  costumes: Kristin Scott Thomas

Also Known As:

The Valet (International: English title) (USA)
La boulette (France) (working title)
Una Top model nel mio letto (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language.

Runtime:

France:85 min

Country:

France | Italy | Belgium

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | USA:PG-13 | Romania:A.G. | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Boulogne-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company:

Gaumont

Trivia:

Near the end, the father of François Pignon tells him that he is invited to a dinner to talk about his corkscrews collection. This is a reference to another Francis Veber movie, Le dîner de cons (1998), in which a likable idiot (also called François Pignon) is invited to a dinner on the pretext of talking about his match constructions.

Goofs:

Continuity: Both Francois and Emilie purposely avoid going to Luigi's for lunch, but run into each other at another restaurant. However, in the next scene, Elena asks Francois "Did I upset the girl at Luigi's?"

Movie Connections:

References Racing Stripes (2005)

Soundtrack:

Happy birthday to you

Frence Farce Fantastically Funny

Dany Boon (Joyeux Noël) got a César nomination for supporting actor as the best friend of a really lucky guy.

Daniel Auteuil (Caché, Girl on the Bridge) is hilarious as the billionaire caught with his supermodel mistress, France's Actress of the year for 2006, Alice Taglioni (The Pink Panther). François (Gad Elmaleh) just happened to be in the published picture, so they paid him to fake a relationship with Taglioni to fool Auteuil's wife, Kristin Scott Thomas (Four Weddings and a Funeral, The English Patient, Gosford Park). She's no dummy, knows he's lying, and that's when the fun really begins.

Of course, our man François is really in love with Émilie (Virginie Ledoyen - 8 Women, Saint Ange).

It is all good fun and credit for that is not only due to a fine cast, but to writer/director Francis Veber (La Cage aux folles), who put together some great lines and a funny situation.

Please do not let them make a stupid American remake. It won't possibly be as good as the French version.