The Valet
| The Valet | |
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French theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Francis Veber |
| Produced by | Patrice Ledoux |
| Written by | Francis Veber |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
| Cinematography | Robert Fraisse |
| Edited by | Georges Klotz |
| Distributed by |
Gaumont Sony Pictures Classics (US) |
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Release date
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Running time
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86 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $29.3 million (worldwide) |
The Valet (French: La Doublure) is a 2006 French comedy film written and directed by Francis Veber and starring Gad Elmaleh, Alice Taglioni, Daniel Auteuil, and Kristin Scott Thomas. The screenplay focuses on a parking valet who is enlisted to pretend to be the lover of a famous fashion model in order to deflect attention from her relationship with a married businessman.
The film was remade in Hindi as Do Knot Disturb in 2009, starring Indian model Lara Dutta and Govinda which eventually inspired the 2014 Punjabi movie Disco Singh and the 2016 Bengali moivie Haripad Bandwala.
Pierre Levasseur is a wealthy married Parisian executive involved in an affair with top model Elena Simonsen. When a paparazzo catches the two of them departing their secret hideaway and their photograph is published on the front page of the local newspaper, Pierre's wife Christine confronts him. He claims he has no idea who the woman is, and that she must have been a companion of the man seen walking beside them. Fully aware of Pierre's difficult situation, Elena gives him an ultimatum: he must choose between her and his wife. Because Christine is the majority shareholder of his business, Pierre is in danger of losing his fortune if he divorces her. His lawyer Maître Foix advises him the only way to resolve the issue is to find the anonymous man in the photo and have him pose as Elena's lover.
The anonymous man is the hapless François Pignon, a parking valet who is in love with bookstore owner Émilie. Deep in debt and worried about her business, she has turned down his marriage proposal because she believes she has too much on her plate, and thinks of him as a brother. Meanwhile, Maître Foix locates François and offers him money to let Elena move in with him and pretend they are a couple. François agrees and asks for 32,450 euros: the exact amount of money that will pay off Émilie's debts. Meanwhile, Elena demands 20 million euros to participate in the sham relationship, a sum she keeps as a deposit that she will return to Pierre when he leaves his wife. Dislodging his friend and roommate Richard, Elena moves in with François, who is overwhelmed by the situation, but the two quickly become friends.
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