Actually it is his neighbour (Michel Aumont) who gives him the idea of behaving gay. The neighbour was sacked 20 years ago because he was gay, so he feels that there is surely an evolution of sorts. But it is the neighbour's cameo that is souffle-light as he reels off choicest one-liners. When Pignon wants to jump off his verandah, he tells him not to do so as his fall would damage his car. When Pignon wants to confide in him, he quips, "go on tell me, there's nothing on YV tonight." There are many more such lines.

But it is an excellent screenplay by Veber that imbues the film with sparkling wit as it weaves in and out of a handful of characters and director Veber is adept at handling the variety of characters in the office.

Suddenly Pignon is the focal point in the office. All eyes are on him and his immediate female boss (Thierry Laroque) tries to make a pass at him. His wife (Michelle Laroque) has left him. "She married me as coldly as she left me," he tells his confidante neighbour who has a solution to every problem of his. Then there is a baseball fan colleague (Gerard Depardieu) who is having problems with his wife because he is asked to act gay for Pignon's benefit.

It is an amusing mishmash and the boss Bertrand is soon marginalised. In fact it is Pignon who really grows in stature. gone is the shaky, unsure insignificant accountant of yore. "Pretending I don't like women I became a man," says Pignon and he's quite proud of it. What's more he is soon the cynosure of all eyes inasmuch as the boss dwindles in comparison.

When his wife asks to meet him in a restaurant, the viewer thinks that it may be a rapprochement but he berates her roundly for her past cold behaviour. It is obvious that he has done with her and then we have an amusing twist to the story. In typical French style, there is a cute culmination to a truly entertaining film which not only is hilarious but brings out some real home truths even if they may be in the office.

Daniel Autiel is excellent as the hero of the film and he is ably supported by Michel Aumont as the irrepressible neighbour but big star Geraard Depardieu seems wasted in an insignificant cameo. Thierry Lhermitte and Michelle Laroque play the female roles competently but it is essentially a man's film and the brilliant off-beat manner in which it is treated makes it such a wonderful entertainer. It made up for a good number of non-starters at IFFI-33.