Priceless (2006)

Through a set of wacky circumstances, a young gold digger mistakenly woos a mild-mannered bartender, thinking he's a wealthy suitor.

Director:

Pierre Salvadori

Writers:

Pierre Salvadori (scenario), Benoît Graffin (scenario)

Stars:

Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Marie-Christine Adam

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Audrey Tautou	...	Irène
Gad Elmaleh	...	Jean
Marie-Christine Adam	...	Madeleine
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Jacques
Jacques Spiesser	...	Gilles
Annelise Hesme	...	Agnès
Charlotte Vermeil	...	Dame au chihuahua
Claudine Baschet	...	Dame au dogue
Laurent Claret	...	Responsable bar Biarritz
Jean de Coninck	...	L'homme au cigare
Blandine Pélissier	...	La femme de chambre
Philippe Vendan-Borin	...	Serveur restaurant Biarritz
Bernard Bourdeau	...	Collègue Jean Biarritz
Didier Brice	...	François
Laurent Mouton	...	Serveur café François

Storyline

In Biarritz with her elderly provider to celebrate her birthday, Irene slips down to the hotel bar when he falls asleep on her. She mistakes barman Jean for a well-healed guest and he encourages the deceit by taking her up to the Royal Suite for the night. A year later the same thing happens but this time her lover finds out and disowns her. Now knowing Jean is indeed a barman of little means doesn't stop her from continuing to live in style until his money is gone. He soon finds himself in Irene's business with older and worldly-wise Madeleine, and though Irene also takes up with a new paramour the two of them keep in increasingly close touch.

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Plot Keywords:

money | birthday | gold digger | bartender | knickers | 

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Taglines:

On the French Riviera, Love, Passion and Romance come at a Price

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content including nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site TFM Distribution [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

11 April 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Priceless

Filming Locations:

Hôtel du Palais, 1 Avenue de l'Impératrice, Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France

Box Office

Budget:

EUR11,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$116,308, 30 March 2008

Gross USA:

$2,165,188

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$28,041,861

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Pelléas, France 2 Cinéma, Tovo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During a French TV show, the actress and singer Marie Laforêt announced her participation in the film, but in the end, she did not appear in it.

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Quotes

Jean: Referring to the expensive watch Madeleine has bought for him: "That's not a watch. It's a treasure chest." In French "C'est pas un montre. C'est un coffre."

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Connections

Referenced in Spread (2009)

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Soundtracks

Cheaper to Keep Her
Performed by MFSB (as M.F.S.B.)
(Mack Rice)
© Deleif Music/East Memphis Music Corp.
(P) 1963 Sony BMG Music Entertainment Inc.
With the kind authorization of Sony BMG Music Entertainment France

User Reviews

Audrey Tautou superb as usual

This is a classic case of moral ambivalence. Audrey Tautou, hypnotising us as usual with her big soulful eyes, plays someone of less than salubrious character, in fact a totally amoral gold-digger. The film is actually a study of gold-digging. Gad Elmaleh is the hapless intoxicant, drowning in the beauty of Audrey, a kind of Tautouholic, and who cannot understand that? So he starts out straight and gets sucked into this world of sell yourself for cash, and sticks with it because while they are in the same luxury hotels being paid to be sex toys by rich older people, he gets to spend his spare moments with her. The girlie friendship between them as prostitute colleagues drives him crazy because he loves her, but it is the only way he can be near her. The film has many hilarious moments, if being a prostitute is hilarious, and the story is about whether Audrey will discover what is 'beyond price', namely that thing called love. Audrey's talent for mania comes out especially in the scene where she goes wild with lust for a new dress which she sees for sale. She wants money, she wants things, and ultimately this is a morality tale about whether she can get beyond these delusions. Elmaleh was an excellent choice for the fellow, and he does a superb job in being sensitive and befuddled as he does what a man has gotta do to hang in there somehow. Will she crack? Audrey meanwhile exudes waves of warmth and creates a real individual out of someone who could so easily have been a cardboard cutout character. The screen is awash with her charm, one wants to wade out into that surf, like Elmaleh, knowing that one could easily drown. Will he? Does he? I'm not going to tell. Notch up one more irresistible vehicle for Audrey Tautou as she continues her march through unmissable film after film. But the mystery as to who and what she is deepens, because the more she is exposed to our view, the less we can really see of her, as she is the ultimate chamaeleon, of whom we will always know a diminishing amount as she progressively turns herself into a legend.