Koch on Film

Volume 1, Number 33 | The Weekly Newspaper of Chelsea | May 4 - 10, 2007

Koch on Film

“The Valet” (-)

Everything about this movie is ridiculous. It is cliché ridden, obvious in almost every scene, vacuous, and just plain silly.

Stephen Holden gave it a good review in The Times. He wrote, “Francis Veber, who wrote and directed ‘The Valet,’ is a master of the modern French farce. And this film has the same tight structure and carefully plotted surprises and reversals as his earlier comedies ‘The Dinner Game’ and ‘The Closet.’ These movies are wonderfully frothy contrivances, built with traditional machinery from models that have been around for centuries.”

I must admit that slight comedies almost always bore me, and this one was no exception. It can’t compare with “The Importance of Being Ernest” by Oscar Wilde or the old romantic comedies starring Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.

The main character in “The Valet” is a wealthy businessman, Pierre (Daniel Auteuil), who is married to Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas). Pierre is having an affair with a model who physically towers over him, Elena (Alice Taglioni). Elena insists that Pierre divorce his wife, but since Christine owns 60 percent of his business, a divorce would ruin him financially.

Pierre and Elena are seen together and a photo of them appears in the newspaper which upsets Christine. A plot is hatched by Pierre’s lawyer, Mr. Foix (Richard Berry), claiming that the third blurred figure in the photo, Francois (Gad Elmaleh), is Elena’s actual lover.
You’ll have to see the movie to learn how it all sorts out. But trust me. If you never know how it ends, you aren’t missing a thing.

Though taken aback by my apparent confusing of the issues, and unable to say what would become of the loading dock in question, David assured me that none of these developers—either in the already existing buildings or the ones to come—would be allowed to open any type of restaurant or retail store on the High Line. And while I’m fairly sure he believes this, I’m a bit more skeptical myself. The developers will be looking for ways to maximize their profits, and they’re no doubt working overtime to weasel concessions in this regard, just like the Caledonia did on the issue of access. (And whoever owns the building with the loading dock is not going to give it up without a fight.) Since it now looks like we’re stuck with the High Line Park, what it increasingly comes down to is whether you favor a sterile corporate mall or a bustling, boutique-and-café-lined avenue in the sky.