Etienne(Jean Rochefort)is a happily married man and a good father. His friends all have secret affairs and/or cheat on their wives. One morning, Etienne sees a woman in red passing by his car. He falls in love with her and tries everything to get to know her better. Of course, this must be kept a secret to his wife.
Whereas the story may not be very original, this film is extremely charming and amiable nonetheless. It has a great supporting cast(Brasseur is a stand-out),very funny moments and many real-life characters. Too bad this charming little film was later remade as THE WOMAN IN RED(with Gene Wilder and Kelly LeBrock). But Hollywood seems to have this "urge" to make their own version of each film with a bit of success outside the States. Anyway, if you have to choose between the original and the remake, choose UN ÉLEPHANT...(or PARDON MON AFFAIRE as it is sometimes called). 7/10
Plot summary
As loyal as a dove, the down-to-earth family man, Étienne Dorsay, is about to tell his first lie to his supportive and caring wife, Marthe, when, out of the blue, falls head over heels in love with an enchanting woman in a billowy red dress. Now, he is a fearless Casanova willing to go to great lengths to be with the object of his ever-growing desire; however, is Étienne--the inexperienced adventure-seeker--up for the task? With the aid of his few intimate friends, Étienne just might get what he wishes for; nevertheless, is love always a bed of roses?
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French films can be funny
This time the dream's on me
Although it has elements of the dubious morality that obtained in the seventies overall this is a gentle charmer from the screenplay by Jean- Loup Dabadie through the direction of Yves Robert through the ensemble acting led admirably by Jean Rochefort. I haven't seen the Hollywood remake so I am unable to compare and contrast, I have, however, seen sufficient Hollywood remakes of French comedies - including one actually written by the great Francis Veber, i.e. adapting his own French screenplay for Hollywood - to know they seldom, if ever, live up to the original let alone eclipse it. The plot has elements of The Seven Year Itch and Dabadie acknowledges this by having the fantasy object stand over an air vent which blows her dress up; the difference is that in The Seven Year Itch there was only one male lead (Tom Ewell) and the object of his fantasy (Marilyn Monroe) whereas here Jean Rochefort has three male buddies all experiencing female trouble. Overall a pleasant, entertaining soufflé.
When four guys meet...
This truly funny and very well written - by Dabadie - comedy directed by Yves Robert is certainly one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. It is also one that I enjoy seeing again and again.
Where the pretext for the story is really just what it is - a pretext - the most interesting part is the relationships that fuels the friendship between four men entangled in very difficult "rapport" with women. The funniest one certainly being the mother-son relationship that is in fact a true love story, that goes on between Guy Bedos and Marthe Villalonga. The scenes between those two are real anthology pieces.
The secondary roles are also very attaching, particularly the one held by Christophe Bourseiller.
All in all, this "coup de foudre" turned bad, told in voice over with amazing wit and elegance by Jean Rochefort is a classic that stands alone in the face of very mediocre French comedies.
The sequel - Nous irons tous au paradis - is also very enjoyable.