The Valet

Image credit: Dominique Le Strat

FRENCH MADE Auteuil cooks up a scheme to keep his wife (Thomas) from finding out about his mistress in The Valet, director Veber's feast of a farce

A rich Paris tycoon (Daniel Auteuil) pays a sad-sack parking valet (Gad Elmaleh) to pretend he's the boyfriend of the tycoon's mistress (Alice Taglioni) so the tycoon's wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) doesn't get suspicious. Wait, it gets better and better in this foolproof French farce, a satisfying contraption of twists, missteps, and blithe repartee that produces old-fashioned, honestly earned guffaws. (Master farceur Francis Veber has been tickling international audiences for more than 30 years.) Resistance to The Valet is futile: The tumblers of this well-oiled entertainment machine make satisfying clicks as the pieces lock merrily into place.