The Closet (2001)

A man spreads the rumor of his fake homosexuality with the aid of his neighbor, to prevent his imminent firing at his work.

Director:

Francis Veber

Writers:

Francis Veber (dialogue), Francis Veber (screenplay)

Stars:

Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Auteuil	...	François Pignon
Gérard Depardieu	...	Félix Santini
Thierry Lhermitte	...	Guillaume
Michèle Laroque	...	Mlle Bertrand
Jean Rochefort	...	Kopel, the director
Alexandra Vandernoot	...	Christine
Stanislas Forlani	...	Franck (as Stanislas Crevillén)
Michel Aumont	...	Belone, the neighbour
Edgar Givry	...	Mathieu
Thierry René	...	Victor (as Thierry Ashanti)
Armelle Deutsch	...	Ariane
Michèle Garcia	...	Madame Santini
Laurent Gamelon	...	Alba
Vincent Moscato	...	Ponce
Irina Ninova	...	Martine

Storyline

François Pignon, a very bland sort of man who works as an accountant in a rubber factory, is about to be fired. His new neighbour comes up with an idea to prevent such a thing to happen: he spreads the rumor that he's gay so that the factory management might be afraid they'll be sued for sexual discrimination. Of course, nothing happens as it should, but the changes in François Pignon's life -and other people's too- is drastic !

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Plot Keywords:

homophobia | pretending to be gay | homosexual | gay pride | paris france | 

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Taglines:

He was about to lose his job, until a friend offered to start a rumor... Now he's about to come out of the closet he never went into.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a scene of sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

French visa # 99173.

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Goofs

Around 00:20:18, Ariane's arm is on the chair's armrest. On the next shot, her arm is on the desk.

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Quotes

Guillaume: [to Félix] You've got to bash that gay bashing image, damn it!

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Connections

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

User Reviews

Well made, warm, thoughtful, if unexceptional comedy...great fun!

The Closet (2000)

Cute, quaint, well done, and a French feel good comedy. This is nothing brilliant, but it's the equal of lots of American comedies in creating a situation that is filled with built-in laughs. And the leading man, Daniel Auteuil, is funny and sympathetic.

The setting for this all is an office of the most preposterous kind--a condom factory. This is meant to be funnier than it is, actually, but it's a colorful backdrop to the opening salvo--our leading man is not the best accountant and he gets fired. Back home, where his life has left him and his son has stopped talking to him, his neighbor stops him from jumping off the balcony to his death. And concocts a simple plan to keep his job: pretend he is gay.

The hook here is that by being openly gay the man would be able to claim he was fired by the gay bashers at the factory. This doesn't quite hold up, but the key basher is played with nice complexity by Gerard Depardieu, who himself begins to show some latent something or other.

There is plenty of sympathy and warmth to go around here, and lots of appropriate laughs as you empathize with the main guy. Eventually, of course, people discover the ruse and that starts some new jokes. All in all enjoyable and fun, without a dull moment. And that's all you expect or need from this kind of movie.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

10 August 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ein Mann sieht rosa

Filming Locations:

La Maison du Chocolat, 225 rue due Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris 8, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF95,130,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$6,678,894

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$50,104,745

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont, EFVE, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1