Le placard (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.

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 | homosexuality | 

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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

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:

FRF 95,130,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$85,253, 1 July 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$6,671,454, 11 November 2001

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The main set, constructed at the Epinay film studio, is a replica of the Prophyltex factory.

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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

François Pignon: You're completely uninteresting.

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Connections

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

User Reviews

A Great, Funny Feel-Good Movie

Anyone who dismisses foreign films as too abstract or intellectual should see this one; it functions no differently than any American comedy. (By American comedy, I'm speaking of movies like the better Coen Brothers or Woody Allen comedies and not mass-produced garbage like "White Chicks".) Many times I completely forgot it was in French and that I was reading subtitles.

Daniel Auteuil is great in this charming film. His sad-sack loser is reminiscent of William H. Macy's most famous roles, or perhaps Jack Lemmon in "The Apartment".

Everything goes wrong for François Mignon. Neither his wife, who left him two years before, nor his teenage son will have anything to do with him. He is ignored at work, and finds out through the grapevine that he has been fired.

His next-door neighbor talks him out of suicide and comes up with a plan to save his job: if Mignon pretends to be gay, the company will not want to look homophobic by firing him.

This plan works perfectly, and Mignon is thrown into a number of increasingly ridiculous situations, now that he is reputed to be gay.

The film wraps up quickly and ties together almost too neatly, but the ending fits the fast paced comic style of everything before it. Overall, this is an entertaining and heartwarming film.