Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

secondtake The Closet (2000)Cute, quaint, well done, and a French feel good comedy. This is nothing brilliant, but it's the equal of lots of American comedies in creating a situation that is filled with built-in laughs. And the leading man, Daniel Auteuil, is funny and sympathetic.The setting for this all is an office of the most preposterous kind--a condom factory. This is meant to be funnier than it is, actually, but it's a colorful backdrop to the opening salvo--our leading man is not the best accountant and he gets fired. Back home, where his life has left him and his son has stopped talking to him, his neighbor stops him from jumping off the balcony to his death. And concocts a simple plan to keep his job: pretend he is gay.The hook here is that by being openly gay the man would be able to claim he was fired by the gay bashers at the factory. This doesn't quite hold up, but the key basher is played with nice complexity by Gerard Depardieu, who himself begins to show some latent something or other. There is plenty of sympathy and warmth to go around here, and lots of appropriate laughs as you empathize with the main guy. Eventually, of course, people discover the ruse and that starts some new jokes. All in all enjoyable and fun, without a dull moment. And that's all you expect or need from this kind of movie.

gelman@attglobal.net Not many actors in this amusing film will be familiar to an American audience, aside from Gerard Depardieu and possibly Daniel Auteuil. But, as is frequently the case in British productions, the cast in "The Closet" is filled with actors who have played feature roles in many another movie. The story -- a colorless accountant pretends to be gay to keep his job with a company that manufactures condoms -- produces numerous complications. The funniest (and least probable) scene occurs when the accountant and his female boss (Michele Laroque), who has seen thru the scheme, make love on the factory floor just as the head of the company is leading a delegation of Japanese businessmen along a catwalk high above the scene. He explains "they are our testers." Auteuil and Depardieu are certainly the stars but many of the other parts are so skillfully executed that the silly plot actually seems to make sense.

lastliberal Poor François Pignon is boring. When a staff reduction becomes necessary, he will be let go. Pignon is played by Daniel Auteuil, who I really liked in The Valet. He is one of the top French actors, having won a BAFTA and two Césars out of 12 nominations.He is commiserating when his meets his neighbor Belone, played by Michel Aumont, who has three César nominations himself for supporting roles, and was also in The Valet. He has a solution to Pignon's problem.Belone does some digital magic and sends photos to Pignon's office to make everyone think he is gay. The head of the company, played by Jean Rochefort, who has two Césars himself is afraid to fire him now, especially since they make condoms and don't want to offend some of their customers. Gérard Depardieu, who has an Oscar nomination, two BAFTA nominations, and an incredible 14 César nominations, with two wins, is the office homophobic, who must befriend Pignon out of fear of being fired himself for political incorrectness.Four of France's finest actors in one film is a real pleasure and a guarantee that it will be interesting.It really doesn't get into gay jokes. It is more about how people change. Depardieu is hilarious showing how sensitive he can be as his coworkers prod him to be more accepting.The film gets funnier, as his female co-workers believe the photos are fake and try to prove it.The company decides to use him and they put him on a float in the Gay Pride parade wearing a condom hat.Pignon may not be gay, but he turned into an interesting man after everyone's expectations of him changed. he even connected with his son. It was so funny.

Lee Eisenberg So often, we think that French cinema likes to be purely artistic that it seems like they can't do comedy. Well, I've seen two French movies that made me nearly die laughing: "Les Visiteurs/The Visitors" and "Le Placard/The Closet". This one portrays a man (Daniel Auteuil) about to get fired, but he makes himself look gay so that it could come across as job discrimination. It leads to a series of unexpected consequences, natch.A lot of the movie seems like it's just an excuse to be silly. But watching the movie, one can definitely feel the European flavor: strong women, sexual humor coming in surprising places, and other such things. And of course, this flick affirms that Daniel Auteuil and Gerard Depardieu are two of the greatest actors of our time. Above all, I wish to assert that it's always great from time to time to see a movie not afraid to do anything it wants. Really funny.I swear, it seems like I've seen Gerard Depardieu in more English-speaking roles than French-speaking ones. Then again, I do live in the United States.