Palais royal !

Those of us who found the much-vaunted albeit slightly dubious charm of Princess Diana terminally elusive will revel in this delicious satire in which writer-director Valerie Lemercier captures perfectly that faux demureness and all too real touch of the retard about Diana. Lemercier, who is much more lovely and desirable than Diana ever was, is right on the nose with her characterisation developing it naturally from the gauche, naive speech therapist who lucked into a Prince (Lambert Wilson)who, as the second son - shades of 'Bertie' aka George the Sixth - had no realistic claim to the throne but did have an elder brother who might be a Prince but would never make sperm Count so that when the King dies unexpectedly Wilson finds himself the new reigning Monarch and Lemercier by extension becomes Queen. Ever-so-slowly the moth becomes a social butterfly and Lemercier's genius is that she can makes us wince/reach for the sick-bag as Armelle is incapable of passing a Black child or a Senior Citizen without summoning the photographers and posing winsomely, yet sympathize with her rebellion against Royal protocol/chastisement as personified and practiced by Catherine Deneuve's Queen and Michel Aumont's Brother-in-law. The scene where Armelle gets a custard pie in the kisser will resonate with all those who longed to hurl just such a missile at the 'Queen of Hearts' as will many other scenes. By now, of course, I've lost half my readers but I urge the other half to seek out this gem as soon as possible.

This is, of course, a comedy. So, let's talk funny: three testicles theme, the whole Deneuve character, the opening London sequence, personal trainer guy - very funny. The whole thing is a bit long, but quite enjoyable. I'm just wondering if they also ridicule the Belge (the only French-speaking continental people with royalty), as it goes along, but I don't know French enough to catch the nuances. One interesting quality - since it is a poke at the English, the humour is very held-back (not the usual French buffonade), easily the "English gentlemen"-like comic routine, perfectly in line with stuff like the "Stiff upper lip". I guess it is THE stylistic gimmick used here, apart from the obvious Diana satire, to our delight.

First of all, I am a huge fan of Valérie Lemercier! She's been entertaining us for nearly 20 years and she's still surprising us yet. "Palais Royal !" is her third work as a director, and it is the funniest. Her previous two efforts were good, but with this one, she proves herself as a great writer.

The storyline is very simple : After the King dies, her husband (played by the always classy Lambert Wilson) is destined to take the crown, and her to become part of a world she doesn't really know of. As you can see, the plot is very basic, but what shows Lemercier's cleverness is her ability to laugh at the clichés and the explore every little details of her characters. Her screenplay is full of subtle jokes and plays of words - some can regret that a few jokes are a bit... vulgar, but always very funny if you can understand the double meanings.

As for the actors, we have a royal cast here: Queen Catherine Deneuve (who's never been so funny), the sarcastic Michel Aumont and the hilarious Gilbert Melki, among others (all are very good). Last but not least, Valerie Lemercier shows us one more time she's a gifted actress by handling all the versatility of her character.

"Palais Royal !" is the best French comedy of the year !

If a list of the most underrated personalities of French cinema is drawn,Valérie Lemercier would easily figure in it with veteran director Patrice Leconte. About Valérie Lemercier it can be said that she never ceases to amuse critics and viewers in equal measure. Watching her films as an actress as well as a director, one get the feeling that she is not as dumb as she prefers to get depicted. She proves this assertion in her film "Palais Royal". Most people view comedy as a frivolous activity which does not interest serious people. This fallacy is vigorously challenged by leading French actress/director Valérie Lemercier as she establishes that comedy is a highly serious business which can be an enormous aid too in getting key issues heard by a large section of the society. As a comedy film, "Palais Royal" is an innocuous assault on the whims and fancies of a royal family whose members suffer from numerous ethical as well as moral weaknesses. Audiences get to see how the members of a royal family are normal human beings with decent share of vices as well as virtues. Although the film might have been covertly influenced by the travails of the English royal family, incidents and situations portrayed in this film are products of an original scenario.Lastly, apart from Lambert Wilson and Valérie Lemercier, actors such as Mathilde Seigner, Gilbert Melki and Catherine Deneuve do give proper attention to their roles.

Reviewer destinationssecretes sums it up well: vulgar and rogue. And pedestrian... Deneuve is excellent though. Lemercier can be pretty funny if directed well, that is obviously here, not by her own self...