The Valet (2022) Movie Review: Is It Worth Watching?

The Valet (2022) Movie Review

The Valet (2022) Movie Review – The movie ‘The Valet, which was written by Rob Greenberg and Bob Fisher and directed by Richard Wong. It’s a remake of Francis Veber’s French film The Valet (2006). Eugenio Derbez plays a parking valet hired to accompany an actress (Samara Weaving) who is attempting to hide an affair. On May 20, 2022, it will be available on Hulu.

A married man is almost having an affair with a movie star. Her contact with the stranger, on the other hand, is documented. A Beverly Hills restaurant’s parking valet is also visible in the snap. The actress pays the valet to pretend as her boyfriend in order to safeguard her reputation before the debut of her new film.

Although ‘The Valet’ on Hulu has been labelled a romantic comedy, the plot lends itself to less hopeful classifications, at least until the film’s climax. Don’t get me wrong: the humour is present, sincere in its delivery, and deeply buried in practically every other scene, but there are also times when somberness and gravity take over, raising the film to a new level.

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The Valet (2022) Review

The Valet (2022) Movie Review

Richard Wong, who previously directed the 2006 musical ‘Colma: The Musical’ and the 2019 dramedy ‘Come As You Are,’ will direct this film. ‘The Valet’ is an English remake of the same-named 2006 French film (‘La Doublure’). It’s about an odd friendship between a global movie star and a regular guy. Olivia Allan (Samara Weaving) has paid a high price for her celebrity in the form of loneliness and worry.

Her “friends” are her staff; she isn’t connected to her family. She is having an affair with Vincent Royce (Max Greenfield), a married wealthy real estate developer whom she believes will never leave his wife Kathryn (Betsy Brandt) for her. The paparazzi pictures Olivia and Vincent together during a public argument.

Olivia recognises that the public reaction will be disastrous, so she agrees to pretend to be dating Antonio (Eugenio Derbez), the parking valet who was involved in an accident and wound up in the same frame as Olivia and Vincent when the paparazzi took the shot.

Despite their millions of differences, Olivia and Antonio build a sense of friendship as the film unfolds and they get to know each other. Meanwhile, Kathryn is sceptical and hires a private investigator to find out the truth, forcing Vincent and his lawyer to engage their own private investigator to ensure Kathryn is unaware of their plans. Antonio’s family, on the other hand, is understandably baffled by the unexpected turn of events.

‘The Valet’ mostly depicts immigrant life through the lens of Mexican culture. Antonio’s mother Cecilia (Carmen Salinas), and their Korean landlord Mr. Kim are arguably the film’s most touching subplot. Although neither speaks the other’s language, this does not impede them from having a happy relationship.

As a disturbed film queen, Weaving gives a competent performance. Derbez is a well-known figure in the Mexican cinema business, notably since the global success of his film ‘Instructions Not Included,’ which he directed in 2013. He plays Antonio with a mix of humour and pathos. But it’s the late great Carmen Salinas, who dominates every scene she’s in what will be her final project as an actor.

Greenfield, on the other hand, is loud and over-the-top, as if he’s the only cast member who got a memo telling him to wink at the camera all the time. While the rest of the ensemble shows control, Greenfield appears to be channelling Schmidt (his character from Fox’s ‘New Girl’) at his worst all of the time.

Unfortunately, that is hardly ‘The Valet’s’ worst flaw. Francis Veber, the famed comedy auteur, directed the original film in 2006. The delicious humour of ‘La Doublure’ and every other Veber picture is conspicuously missing from the English version. The overall plot has been diluted and simplified, and ‘The Valet’ has lost a substantial portion of its individuality as a result.

Even that would have been fine if the film had been more consistent in its message. ‘The Valet’ trades away some plot pieces that looked important until midway through its nearly two-hour length in search of a happy conclusion. It also refuses to let its two major characters finish their change, forcing them to make decisions that would certainly satisfy the audience but aren’t logical in the context of the story.

Despite this, ‘The Valet’ is undeniably entertaining. It succeeds in telling a compelling, though chaotic, story. The film’s best moments aren’t when the humour comes easy, but when it’s disguised amongst the pain and a meeting with reality. ‘The Valet’ does not follow in the footsteps of ‘Notting Hill,’ ‘Maid in Manhattan,’ or even ‘She’s Out of My League.’ Instead, it forges its own way.

On May 20, “The Valet” will be available exclusively on Hulu.

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