Pierre Brochant (Thierry Lhermitte) is a Parisian publisher who attends an “idiots’ dinner” every week with his posh friends: they usually invite an “idiot” and ridicule him during the dinner. The “idiot” he’s selected is François Pignon (Jacques Villeret), who works at the Finance Ministry. Pierre’s plan is disrupted by a sudden back pain which will keep him in bed; from there, comedy ensues.
The bottles on the bedside table in Pierre’s bedroom belong to his wife Christine. They are classy French fragrances, exactly what we would expect a chic bourgeois woman to wear.
The black bottle with red stopper is Joy by Jean Patou, the white floral fragrance created by Henri Almeras in 1930.
The tall bottle is a perfume by L’Artisan Parfumeur. This is one of the first bottle designs of the French brand: it’s not clear if it’s the very first (8-side bottle) or a more recent version (7-side bottle). We know it’s an old bottle also because the gold stopper is round and not geometric. The front label is pink and only one perfume with this packaging was released before the film: Drôle de Rose. Created by Olivia Giacobetti, it was launched in 1996.
Thanks to concepteaux for submitting this post.
Max Baron (James Spader) is getting ready for a friend’s bachelor party. On his bathroom counter there are two bottles of Ralph Lauren Polo, an aromatic fragrance created by Carlos Benaim and launched in 1978.
While Cecile (Jean Seberg) is applying sunscreen on Elsa’s shoulders, Raymond (David Niven) is reading a magazine with an interesting back cover.
A few instants later the magazine is fully visible: it’s Elle.
The back cover advertises a very popular French perfume – Soir de Paris by Bourjois. Created by Ernest Beaux (Chanel No. 5’s “dad”), it was originally launched in 1928 on the American market as Evening in Paris. Thanks to the huge success it had in the U.S., it was finally launched in Europe with a French name. The blue bottle with silver accents was designed by the painter Jean Helleu.
Matt exposes Trina’s affairs by displaying pictures of them on her vanity. It’s a cruel and dramatic scene, but it gives us the chance to see some of the beauty products she uses.
The bottles of perfume are by Maitre Perfumeur et Gantier (the one at the centre of the vanity) and Annick Goutal (on the mirrored tray on the right).
There’s also a Chanel toning lotion. Something similar can be seen in a 1970s ad: at the time the product was called Lotion Tonique Refraichissante.
In the picture above there’s another Chanel product – the make-up remover Démaquillant Douceur, in the squared bottle used in the 1990s.
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