Slapstick comedies about homosexuality are often more offensive than funny. They perpetuate stereotypes and rarely transcend cliched ideas and storytelling devices. It makes you wonder why anyone would even bother to try making that particular type of film.
With "The Closet," acclaimed French writer/director Francis Veber ("The Dinner Game") has tried to fashion a lively and hilarious comedy of errors dealing with homosexuality and misconceptions, but for the most part it's predictable and tedious.
Daniel Auteuil ("The Widow of Saint-Pierre") stars as Francois Pignon, a middle-aged man who could seriously contend for the title of most boring person alive. This has led to his wife leaving him and his teenage son wanting nothing to do with him. Basically Francois is a doormat.
As if the loss of his wife and his son's apathy weren't enough, Francois discovers that he is about to lose his job as an accountant at a condom factory. His employers find him just as plain and tiresome as his family does.
Desperate to keep his job (and win the love and respect of his co-workers and family), Francois concocts a plan with his neighbor Belone (Michel Aumont). Belone, a retired corporate psychologist who is out of the closet, suggests that Francois also exit the closet.
The theory is if the company knows that Francois is gay, they will not fire him for fear of being sued and backlash from activists.
{INSERT_RELATED}To put the plan in motion, Belone alters some photographs so that it looks as if Francois is homosexual. One shows him dressed in leather, embracing another man and showing off his butt.
Belone mails the doctored photos to the company, and Francois waits to see what happens. And sure enough, it works. Francois gets to keep his job and is suddenly the talk of the office. His wife and son even get word of his secret lifestyle, which in turn rekindles their interest in him.
"The Closet," may sound funny, but it isn't. Sporadically amusing is the best that can be said about it. You can see most of the jokes coming a mile away and everything happens exactly as you would expect it to. There are no surprises.
The characters are all one-dimensional and blatant stereotypes. Worst of all is Gerard Depardieu's Felix, a macho and homophobic co-worker of Francois's harboring a secret of his own. If you can't guess what it is, this must be your first movie.
Clearly Veber thinks he has made a clever film, but "The Closet" is anything but. It feels like it came straight off the assembly line.
Grade: C-
"The Closet" opened Fri., July 27 at Landmark's Downer Theatre.
