Potiche has proven massively popular in France, and it’s easy to see why. A frothy, farcical comedy about women’s empowerment staring the incomparable Catherine Deneuve and based on an already well-loved stage play, the ticket machines must have been spewing out the paper on opening night.

Like many French films, Potiche is obsessed with class, but approaches the topic in an overtly absurdest manner. Deneuve plays an aging trophy wife, Suzanne (the potiche of the film’s title), who in 1977 has very little to do other than jog about in her candy-coloured tracksuit, cooing at the local wildlife, and writing bad poetry.

When Suzanne’s openly philandering asshole of a husband (Fabrice Luchini) falls ill whilst dealing with a strike at his umbrella factory, she has to step in to fill the leadership void. Initially laughed at by the angry workers, Suzanne uses a personal history with the factory (her father established the business) and a gentle woman’s touch to fulfil the workers’ demands and restart the production lines. Of course, things come to a head when her husband returns from a restful cruise to take back the reins of the business, only to find that Suzanne isn’t quite ready to step down just yet.

Adapted from the hit play by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Grédy, Potiche embraces its farcical elements and works everything for laughs, but ultimately only pays lip service to the issues it purports to tackle. It wouldn’t be a problem if the film wasn’t so talky, but in this respect it shows its stage origins despite writer-director Francois Ozon working hard to let the story stretch its limbs. There are passages of zinging comedy and an engagingly kitschy style, but a bit too often they’re waylaid by the never-ending dialogue.

The performers are all onboard with Postiche’s archly camp delivery. Deneuve is fantastic as the slowly flowering Suzanne, a character who’s unapologetic about being a woman who takes what she wants. In the supporting roles, Gérard Depardieu underplays his wild man formula to lend Suzanne’s left-leaning politician ex-lover a sad, loping resignation, and Luchini has a great time mining the outrage as the despicable husband. Jérémie Renier and Judith Godrèche are both strong as Suzanne’s adult children, although Godrèche has perhaps a bit too much dark-eyed danger to always totally convince in a comical sense.

It’s all committed to the screen using the crisp style of the sitcoms of the day. The production and costume design on their own provide plenty of great moments, while Phillippe Rombi almost winks his face off with a sly, knowing score. Potiche doesn’t exactly amount to much, making just surface comments about France of both the 70s and the modern day, and sprawls a bit with its storyline, but you’d feel like churl bagging this too much. It is what it is: an easy, digestible comedy that provides an enjoyable two hours of diversion.


I say: Potiche isn’t exactly cutting edge filmmaking and features a bit of a wonky storyline, but this has more than enough good grace to make it a winner with most audiences.

See it for: The pitch perfect production design and Catherine Deneuve having herself a great time. Also, look out for Sergi Lopez in a hilarious cameo.