Marianne Groves Movies

While there are plenty of stories about gay men who have pretended to be straight for the sake of their careers, this tart comedy from France considers the dilemma of a straight man doing just the opposite. Francois Pignon (Daniel Auteuil) is an accountant whose personality is bland to the point of being nonexistent; he's been down in the dumps ever since his wife left him two years ago, and he becomes even more depressed when he learns that his boss is planning on firing him after 20 years of loyal service. Francois is seriously considering suicide until his next-door neighbor Belone (Michel Aumont) comes up with a plan to save his career. Belone finds some photos snapped at an especially randy gay nightclub, and using his computer, he pastes Francois' face over that of one of the participants. He sends copies of the doctored picture to several of Francois' co-workers, and soon everyone at the office is convinced the quiet little man has a flamboyant secret life. The firm's CEO, Kopel (Jean Rochefort), now has second thoughts about firing Francois, since letting an employee go who is known to be gay could invite a sexual discrimination suit. Meanwhile, the firm's public relations man, Guillaume (Thierry Lhermitte), is dealing with Felix (Gérard Depardieu), an employee relations executive who is well known as a narrow-minded thug. In order to counter charges that he's a rampant homophobe, Guillaume instructs Felix to make friends with Francois, and soon Felix is spending so much time with Francois (while fighting his own internal revulsion) that his wife wonders if he's seeing another woman. Le Placard was writer and director Francis Veber's first film after his international hit Le Diner de Cons -- in which the leading character was also named Francois Pignon. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A poor orphan grows up to be the toast of Paris when his quirky fashion designs become the rage. Filled with earthy, slapstick humor, this comedy chronicles his ride down the road of success. Fausto Barbarico (Ken Higelin) lost his folks during a biking accident and so was sent to a Paris orphanage. There he becomes best friends with Raymond (Francois Hauteserre), who, much to Fausto's delight, is a bad influence. Once he is of age, Fausto is sent to become the apprentice of Mietek (Jean Yanne), a kindly Jewish tailor who quickly becomes Fausto's mentor. Fausto has talent as a tailor and begins designing creative and kooky clothing as a way of promoting Mietek's shop. Romance comes for Fausto after he is asked to design a dress for the butcher's beautiful daughter. Trouble also arrives after Raymond suffers a terrible accident and is seriously injured while wearing one of Fausto's more outlandish designs. Originally released as Fausto, this film is known as A La Mode in the U.S. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this gentle comedy, Mado (Marianne Groves) is the letter-carrier for her small town, and she is constantly on the lookout for a good Catholic man who shares her enthusiasm for sunrises. She even puts up posters on trees and walls advertising her interest. The townspeople make fun of her, but she isn't discouraged. Her best friend is Germaine (Isabelle Gelinas), a pretty girl whose moral standards are not as strict as Mado's. When a film director (Oleg Yankovsky) arrives in town, everyone is agog, but Mado is particularly keen to find out about him. However, it seems that he has his eye on Germaine, and he isn't really in her league anyhow. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi