See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.


Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Valet ( La Doublure ) [DVD]
 
See larger image
 

The Valet ( La Doublure ) [DVD]

DVD ~ Gad Elmaleh
3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Available from these sellers.


1 new from £20.99
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Valet ( La Doublure ) [DVD]
35% buy the item featured on this page:
The Valet ( La Doublure ) [DVD] 3.0 out of 5 stars (1)
Apres Vous [DVD] [2005]
18% buy
Apres Vous [DVD] [2005] 3.5 out of 5 stars (8)
£2.98
Priceless [DVD] [2007]
18% buy
Priceless [DVD] [2007] 3.9 out of 5 stars (53)
£4.98
My Best Friend [DVD] [2007]
17% buy
My Best Friend [DVD] [2007] 3.9 out of 5 stars (8)
£4.98

Product details

  • Actors: Gad Elmaleh, Alice Taglioni, Daniel Auteuil, Kristin Scott Thomas, Richard Berry
  • Directors: Francis Veber
  • Writers: Francis Veber
  • Producers: Francis Veber, Candice Zaccagnino, Francesco Pamphili, Patrice Ledoux
  • Format: PAL
  • Language French, English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Gaumont
  • DVD Release Date: 3 Oct 2006
  • Run Time: 85 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • ASIN: B000H0MHMW
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 74,066 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Priceless [DVD] [2007]

Priceless [DVD] [2007]

DVD ~ Audrey Tautou
3.9 out of 5 stars (53)  £4.98
I Do (Prête-moi ta main) [DVD]

I Do (Prête-moi ta main) [DVD]

DVD ~ Charlotte Gainsbourg
4.2 out of 5 stars (4)  £6.58
My Best Friend [DVD] [2007]

My Best Friend [DVD] [2007]

DVD ~ Daniel Auteuil
3.9 out of 5 stars (8)  £4.98
Le Dîner De Cons [DVD]

Le Dîner De Cons [DVD]

DVD ~ Thierry Lhermitte
4.0 out of 5 stars (28)  £4.98
The Closet [DVD] [2001]

The Closet [DVD] [2001]

DVD ~ Daniel Auteuil
Explore similar items

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
(4)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

1 Review
5 star:    (0)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant but rather short of real laughs, 16 Jun 2009
By Trevor Willsmer (London, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)      
The Valet (aka La Doublure, which translates much more appropriately as The Stand-In) is another one of Francis Veber's glossy and generally well cast comedies where the strength of the premise and the filmmaker's good nature somehow seem to make it not matter so much that the film itself isn't particularly funny. When tycoon Daniel Auteuil is photographed in the street with his supermodel mistress Alice Taglioni, to prevent his wife (Kristen Scott Thomas) - the majority shareholder in his company - from divorcing and bankrupting him, he claims that her boyfriend is actually a passer-by in the photo, Gad Elmaleh's valet at a swank restaurant (the latest in a long line of Veber sadsacks called Francois Pignon). Since his girlfriend Virginie Ledoyen has turned down his proposal of marriage citing the loan her new bookshop is paying off, he agrees to the deception if Auteuil will pay it off. But while Elmaleh suddenly becomes a minor celebrity and the envy of his friends because of his new girlfriend, Scott Thomas isn't fooled for a moment but decides to play along with the deception until she can get enough evidence to hang her errant husband out to dry...

So, no shortage of comic potential. Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond could have had a field day with the plot, but Veber seems to like his characters too much to really let rip at their expense - even Elmaleh's vain yuppie mobile phone salesman rival for Ledoyen's hand gets off pretty lightly. Too often the film seems to let its best chances slip through the cracks. Indeed, there is even a very curious gap in the film's narrative after Elmaleh agrees to the deception where it literally looks as if a reel is missing: we never see him and Taglioni meet but suddenly jump ahead rather jarringly after she's already settled-in at his apartment. Unfortunately the central couple are rather outshone because, aside from being likeable, they're not really given enough to do, with most of the laughs coming from the characters on the sidelines. There's some comic mileage from Dany Boon's reactions to his flatmate's sudden change in fortunes and from Richard Berry's straight faced lawyer, but the biggest laughs come from Michel Aumont's ageing Doctor who always ends up being treated by his patients on his house calls. Still, while it's not up to the standards of The Closet/La Placard, Le Diner de Cons or La Chevre, it's a distinct improvement over Tas-Toi.

The 2.35:1 widescreen transfer on Sony's Region 1 NTSC DVD is quite good, though the second line of subtitles is slightly cropped off at the bottom on widescreen TVs. Still, Sony have put together a good extras package - an English-language commentary by Veber and a 45-minute French making-of documentary as well as scores of trailers for other Sony foreign films, though not, curiously enough, for The Valet itself.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


The Body Shop

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Skin Boost
Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

Shop The Body Shop

 

Beauty without the Beast

Olay Regenerist Daily 3 Point Treatment Cream
From au naturel to party glam, we have all the best names in cosmetics and skincare.

Discover Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

 

Train Hard...Play Hard

Nike, Gola, Converse, and more
Gear up with up to 60% off athletic and outdoor shoes.

Shop now

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates