"Palais Royal," a French satirical comedy about modern-day royalty, is the product of one woman who wears three hats: writer/director/star Valérie Lemercier. She's written herself a pretty good rolea frumpy mom named Armelle, who, due to a legal loophole, becomes queen of a European countryand shows off an appealing comic talent. However, the movie itself is neither as sharp nor as funny as it wants to be, coming off as fluff rather than meaningful satire.
In the movie, Armelle's husband Arnaud (Lambert Wilson) just happens to be the younger son of a monarch, and he inherits the throne after his father dies. The new Princess Armelle is at first bumbling and naïve, but when she discovers that Arnaud is cheating on her, she decides to take revenge, embarrassing her husband in private and getting a glamorous makeover to win over the public. Lemercier is successful as both the dowdy and chic Armelle she knows how to write a character for herself.
Armelle's story has obvious parallels to Princess Diana'snot least of which is that Armelle dies in tragic circumstances when she is at the peak of her popularity. (This isn't really a spoiler: the film begins with Armelle's funeral, then flashes back.) "Palais Royal" wants us to see this as its final satirical coup; however, it comes across as a desperate way to end the movie. Instead of letting all the comic sub-plots play out logically, Lemercier just kills off her main character.
Most unforgivably, the movie wastes Catherine Deneuve, who plays Queen Mother Eugénia. Deneuve looks elegant as always but doesn't have much to do except act disapproving and haughty. At one point it looks like "Palais Royal" will focus on the "Devil Wears Prada"-ish relationship between Eugénia and Armelle, but it drops this angle in favor of Armelle's revenge on Arnaud. Thus begins a lot of practical jokes and slapstick humor, including a few attempts at the old pie-in the-face gag. Intermittently amusing, but also quite easily forgettable.
In the movie, Armelle's husband Arnaud (Lambert Wilson) just happens to be the younger son of a monarch, and he inherits the throne after his father dies. The new Princess Armelle is at first bumbling and naïve, but when she discovers that Arnaud is cheating on her, she decides to take revenge, embarrassing her husband in private and getting a glamorous makeover to win over the public. Lemercier is successful as both the dowdy and chic Armelle she knows how to write a character for herself.
Armelle's story has obvious parallels to Princess Diana'snot least of which is that Armelle dies in tragic circumstances when she is at the peak of her popularity. (This isn't really a spoiler: the film begins with Armelle's funeral, then flashes back.) "Palais Royal" wants us to see this as its final satirical coup; however, it comes across as a desperate way to end the movie. Instead of letting all the comic sub-plots play out logically, Lemercier just kills off her main character.
Most unforgivably, the movie wastes Catherine Deneuve, who plays Queen Mother Eugénia. Deneuve looks elegant as always but doesn't have much to do except act disapproving and haughty. At one point it looks like "Palais Royal" will focus on the "Devil Wears Prada"-ish relationship between Eugénia and Armelle, but it drops this angle in favor of Armelle's revenge on Arnaud. Thus begins a lot of practical jokes and slapstick humor, including a few attempts at the old pie-in the-face gag. Intermittently amusing, but also quite easily forgettable.