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‘Mr. Blake At Your Service!’ Review: John Malkovich In The Most Surprising Role Of His Career In This Charming Feel-Good French Comedy

A review of Mr. Blake At Your Service! Which stars John Malkovich in a rare french language role as a businessman mistaken for a butler in this comedy

They had both planned on revisting the place of their meeting, but now it is just Mr. Blake alone who knocks on the door but is immediately mistaken by the cook and no nonsense manager of the depleted staff Odile ( Emilie Dequenne) as applying for the job of butler that she had advertised in the local paper. At first tasked with menial chores such as filling out the many jackpot lottery mailings Madame Beauvillier hopes will result in instant riches, as well as ironing the newspaper so it doesn’t rub off in her hands, Blake is in over his head but also is a good sounding board for the occupants including Odile, a taskmaster who has thrown herself completely into serving the needs of the estate; handyman Philippe ( Philippe Bas) who is quirky with a capital Q, making little homes for hedgehogs in his spare time, and beyond awkward socially even as he privately fancies Odile; and finally the maid, Manon who unbeknownst to everyone else is pregnant with a baby by a guy who ditched her. After seeing Jodie Foster similarly showing off a completely fluent french language performance in Vie Privee which just premiered in Cannes, it looks like American actors are finding new employment opportunities well outside of Hollywood, and it is a refreshing change for both.

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