A middle-aged man tries to get back with his estranged, bisexual wife by having a friend seduce his wife's young mistress.
I don't know if this film was originally conceived as a stage play, but it has that air about it: a French marital farce in which the characters are exaggerated for comic effect, where the audience is required to accept implausible plot twists, and in which the hapless, bemused men are humiliated by the women they want to use for their sexual pleasure. I'm sure the "Madame Whiplash" scenes would go down very well in a Parisian theatre.
What is surprising about this otherwise mediocre comedy is the extraordinary quality of the cast, from the quartet of leading actors down to the minor roles which include veteran actor Jacques François (his last film), Claire Nebout (as a professional dominatrix), Julie Depardieu and Emmanuelle Riva. Melvil Poupaud is particularly enjoyable here, in a wonderfully louche and mischievous performance which includes an outrageous and possibly actionable impersonation of David Cronenberg.
I don't know if this film was originally conceived as a stage play, but it has that air about it: a French marital farce in which the characters are exaggerated for comic effect, where the audience is required to accept implausible plot twists, and in which the hapless, bemused men are humiliated by the women they want to use for their sexual pleasure. I'm sure the "Madame Whiplash" scenes would go down very well in a Parisian theatre.
What is surprising about this otherwise mediocre comedy is the extraordinary quality of the cast, from the quartet of leading actors down to the minor roles which include veteran actor Jacques François (his last film), Claire Nebout (as a professional dominatrix), Julie Depardieu and Emmanuelle Riva. Melvil Poupaud is particularly enjoyable here, in a wonderfully louche and mischievous performance which includes an outrageous and possibly actionable impersonation of David Cronenberg.