Chic!

The main problems of this comedy are the two male characters and total predictability. Hélène is a stereotypical career woman, uptight and harsh, a fixer working for the abominable Alain. They both work for designer Alicia (Ardant) yet another stereotypical female, as the passionate woman in need of a male "muse" to finish her collection.

The plot twist should be Julien, the unlikely male muse, actually, Hélène's gardener, a rough Norman guy, whom Hélène just fired and Alice met by chance. As you can guess, opposites attraction is at work and the most unlikely couple of sloppy gardener and uptight fixer is on the way to lovers' paradise, bar a few obstacles.

The actress playing Hélène is actually quite good and Ardant is suave and graceful enough to make amends for her selfish and manipulative character. Unfortunately, the guy playing Julien is very unappealing with a thin face and fragile frame and his character is badly dressed, unshaved, inarticulate, charmless, and disdainful, hardly "muse" material. It's impossible to believe that not one but two sophisticated women would fall for him.

In fact, unattractive actors make suspended disbelief impossible. Much worse is the short, plumpish, blondish guy playing Alain. His character is supposed to be obnoxious but he overdoes wildly in a role that would have been better played straight and cool.

Some of the dialogues are really funny, but the plot deteriorated towards the end, when - for instance - Alice's workers invade Hélène impossible luxurious villa calling it "ugly" and Hélène is ready in a moment to drop a job she fought hard to get. Weird.