All About Corinne

Paris Follies writer-director Marc Fitoussi reteams with the inimitable, Oscar-nominated Isabelle Huppert (TIFF ’16’s Elle) for this delectable comedy about the obstinance of dreams — and the ubiquity of seemingly impenetrable cliques.

After decades spent struggling to make advances in her country’s notoriously inaccessible film industry, Corinne Maclou (Huppert) remains a background actor. While being known as a dependable extra has its perks, Corinne still aspires to strut her stuff among the stars. She spies her chance when she meets Sandrine Kiberlain (TIFF ’24’s Meet the Barbarians) and, little by little, uses her eccentric charms to befriend the celebrated actor. But will friendship alone provide Corinne with the tools necessary to break into the fickle family of le cinéma français?

Playful, absorbing, and rife with insider wit, All About Corinne allows us to root for the underdog while rubbing elbows with royalty. Echoing the meta-hijinks of hit satire Call My Agent! (Dix pour cent), for which Fitoussi directed six episodes, the film features a grand assemblage of beloved stars — Kiberlain, Emmanuelle Bercot, Anne Marivin, Ana Girardot, Vincent Dedienne, and Thomas Jolly — playing themselves. This makes the irony of casting Huppert, one of the world’s boldest and most versatile actors, as a cinematic minion that much more delicious. If she can’t make it, no one can. 

Content advisory: coarse language, mature themes