Potiche

I first saw the French actress Catherine Deneuve in a movie in the English-language "Repulsion" in 1965 when she as just 22. Playing the 'trophy wife' of the title in this 2010 French film, Deneuve is 67 but still glamorous. When Suzanne Pujol's husband (Fabrice Luchini) - a sexist partner and a harsh boss - has to absent himself from his 300-employee umbrella factory for health reasons, she takes over and transforms both the industrial relations and the business performance of the plant with a sensitive feminine touch that makes full use of her connections including the local mayor (Gérard Depardieu).

Set in 1977 and a comedy, this is an old-fashioned and very light work that lacks any subtlety or nuance with writer and director François Ozon simply satiring both the factory owner and his trade unions (CFDT and UGT).

Of course I was a bit on the defensive having tickets for a film starring several famous actors with a long history in major roles, like Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu. Though fearing a sort of reliving-past-glories event, embarrassing for actors and viewers alike, it was a relief that I was proved wrong in my expectations. My final conclusion is that the film is entertaining throughout, after starting a bit weak. As a result it will entertain a large population of viewers.

The only minus points I have lie in the first 15 minutes. Especially the opening scene did not bode well for the rest. We see Catherine jogging and interacting with animals. Subsequently, in the same 15 minutes, my worst feelings seemed further confirmed because of a few scenes with family members. It showed a lot of overly emphasized role playing, each doing his very best to highlight the bad elements of their respective characters.

Past that opening exposition of main characters, the story took off and kept us all awake for the remainder of the time. What happens with the members of the family and the people around them, is very diverse and full of surprises. None of it can possibly be predicted.

An array of developments and complications unfold. All of these build on the good and bad psychological properties shown earlier, together making up the main character roles. In spite of what I said before, we see that aforementioned opening scenes are paying back, after all. The overacting that I observed in the opening scenes, may be only my imagination, being the result of my initial (wrong) attitude.

"Your job is to share my opinion." Robert Pujol (Fabrice Luchini) to his wife.

As you can tell from the trailers and the above quote, Suzanne Pujol (Catherine Deneuve) will not remain a potiche (Trophy wife) for long in Potiche, a fluffy satire of the late '70's fascination with the feminist movement. It's a lightweight look at the emergence of a woman to run the family business in a style that melds conservative and liberal values in the form of negotiations with unions and meaningful dialogue.

The soft touch of director Francois Ozon is evident in almost every frame, from Suzanne's modest but flattering outfits to her soothing charm that binds friends and family in a humanity coming partly from her considerable beauty, even as a middle-aged woman, and partly from a script that leans to the left with good cheer.

Along the way writers Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Gredy (both successful with Just Go with It) guarantee Suzanne will triumph in the factory and a coda that looks ahead to Hillary Clinton. Although none of the dialogue is memorable and some of the setups sophomoric, the film retains its respect for her and the mission of feminism. The sweetness of it all is that despite her philandering husband, Suzanne has a checkered past as well, making for a balanced battle of the sexes.

Review of POTICHE (Trophy Wife) The Good

It's a a frothy comedy, but managed to touch upon complex issues of gender, personal triumph and defeat, marriage crisis, ideologies and political dynamics intertwined with personal lives. It's done so without getting heavy, almost effortless, making the viewing experience a delight.

Suzanne Pujol is another star vehicle for Catherine Deneuve. And no matter how many times I've seen this, and regardless of her age, she seems to deserve it as her birth right. Deneuve bounced off descent performances by a star line-up of half of the who's who in French cinema including the likes of Gérard Depardieu, and it was fun to watch.

The plot and the ending are not over the top, though very polished still somewhat true to life. Easy said than done for a personal triumph story in a light comedy.

The Bad

Deneuve seems to be having so much fun in her role, but I never quite cared as much. At more than one occasions, their performance may appear effortless at first, but getting thin and tiring quickly. The characters' youthful indiscretions, twists and turns in the plots seem to be strong spices without good food to cling on to.

The Ugly

It is so polished that, at times, I feel three or four short trailers would have done the job. Kind of like visiting a small pantheon of contemporary French acting Gods in a lazy Sun afternoon.

Catherine Deneuve at 68 is what Oscar Wilde called "That horror of horrors, a Handsome Woman..." Well, life is hard and time pitiless. We can say that she looks alright "considering her age", but when you look at pictures of her gorgeous 20 years...,, and not to mention her partner in this movie, Gerard Depardieu... Mon Dieu! he's really in bad shape!!! worse even that Jack Nicholson and that is saying a lot!!!

He wears an open jacket (I think he gave up trying to button up because his stomach is enormous) and it's almost embarrassing to watch both of them in the night club scene, dancing "modern", I almost avoided looking at the screen. Pitiful. He's totally miscast. Deneuve, being better "preserved", is still fun to look at. Excellent actress and a very good movie.

Funny in a very french way --it seems that the french can produce these incredibly light movies with as much ease as they make those heavenly Crêpe Suzettes. And as tasty. A very good entertainment done in very nice colors and at the perfect pacing for such a light comedy. Fun to watch!