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Euan Kerr
St. Paul, Minn.

Francis Veber keeps his comedy lean

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"The Valet"
In Francis Veber's film "The Valet" a supermodel called Elena (Alice Taglioni) poses as the girlfriend of a car hop called Francois Pignon (Gad Elmaleh.)
Image courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

The French film director who made "La Cage aux Folles" is introducing a new movie to America.

Francis Veber's comedy "The Valet" revolves around a billionaire industrialist who is photographed with his supermodel mistress.

Francis Veber
Director and screenwriter Francis Veber says he has always tried to make people laugh. He specializes in farces, and is best known in the US for his film "La Cage aux Folles."
MPR Photo/Euan Kerr

To save his marriage and his job, he enlists the help of an impoverished parking valet to pose as the model's boyfriend.

As always happens in Weber films, things quickly go awry.

In France Francis Veber is known as the "king of farce." He's made dozens of films, and a number of them have been picked up and remade in English in Hollywood. Veber says he began his comedy career with an early advantage.

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"The Valet"
In Francis Veber's film "The Valet" a supermodel called Elena (Alice Taglioni) poses as the girlfriend of a car hop called Francois Pignon (Gad Elmaleh.)
Image courtesy Sony Pictures Classics