François Pignon, an accountant in a condom factory, learns that he is going to be fired. Already overwhelmed by personal problems, he decides to throw himself out the window. He is stopped in his tracks by his next-door neighbor who suggests an unexpected plan to keep his job: pretend to be a homosexual. Assuming that in this age of political correctness, one does not fire a gay man, he manages to convince Pignon to play along while remaining a discreet and shy little man... What will change is the way others look at him. Pignon will thus benefit from an unusual reintegration by coming out of a closet where he had never entered.
Acting
Élie Semoun's committed pathetic energy — born to play Pignon.
Writing
Sharp satire of corporate PC culture before it was everywhere.
Production
Theater origins shine through in tight single-location energy.
Director
Dominique Thiel
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on a 1998 play by Guillaume Laurant, who co-wrote Amélie — explaining the bittersweet undertones.
Released in France during debates about PACS (civil unions), making its satire of 'tolerance' uncomfortably timely.
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