This French romantic comedy-drama concerns Claude Langmann, a middle-aged auctioneer, who is in a loving marriage with his second wife of 15 years. Though he is deeply in love with his wife and has remained faithful to her, he finds himself unable to perform in bed. His wife says she is satisfied with Claude's love and tenderness, but he visits a sex specialist anyway. There he learns of Viagra, which is not yet approved in France, though it is available in Switzerland over the counter. Soon Claude is on his way to Geneva, and eager to prove his manhood, tries to bed Agnes, his very attractive and very available assistant. His daughter, who also comes along for the trip, interferes with her own problems.
Acting
Claude Berri directing himself into maximum secondhand embarrassment.
Direction
Berri's 1999 Viagra-era time capsule of male panic.
Director
Claude Berri
Claude Berri
Claude Langmann
Fanny Ardant
Marie Langmann, épouse de Claude
Claude Brasseur
Paul-Édouard
Alain Chabat
Le gynécologue et andologue
Danièle Lebrun
Myriam, ex-femme de Paul-Édouard
Véronique Vella
Julie, entraîneuse
Brigitte Bémol
Agnès
François Berléand
Le docteur Nataf
Pierre Semmler
Frédérick, marié et amant de Julie
Myriam Mézières
Une cliente à la vente aux enchères
Nadia Barentin
Monique, l'assistante de Claude
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Claude Berri cast himself as the lead, making this essentially a public midlife crisis with a budget. The TMDB 2.9 rating suggests audiences noticed.
Released months after Viagra's 1998 FDA approval, this captured peak cultural panic about male pharmaceutical solutions—France famously resisted fast-tracking the drug, making the Swiss pharmacy run weirdly historically accurate.
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