During the 1970s, "French fluff" was a favorite deogatory catch-phrase used by critics, to make fun of the very popular (on the art-theater circuit) imports of which "Cousin Cousine" and "Pardon Mon Affaire" were the most typical (and generated Hollywood remakes like clockwork). This Marc Dorcel production, directed by the talented Michel Ricaud, has similar content but for an Adult audience, and it hits the spot.
Title is untranslatable, with a literal stab yielding "The Loaves of the Baker's Wife", far removed from the Marcel Pagnol classic of the 1930s. Adding immeasurably to the entertainment is the juxtaposition of luscious food, in this case French pastries being created in the kitchen, and explicit sex, also in the kitchen. Closeups of the creme brulee being torched or other light desserts being baked are in context the forerunners of today's social media "food porn" photos.
Elodie stars as a young woman applying for a salesgirl position at Jean- Yves Le Castel's bakeshop, only to get the culinary world's version of casting couch treatment. This sets the tone for an upbeat farce, most typified by a delightful scene where a blonde named Vanessa is being humped from behind in the kitchen by Jean-Yves, sticking her head out through the transom to converse with J-Y's wife (luscious and buxom Debbie V. Jils) who is oblivious to her husband cheating on her just inches away.
The major difference between the classic Dorcel releases of roughly 20 years ago and today's glossier product from the label is that the earlier titles have a joie de vivre and upbeat aspect one might associate with yet another generation of French fluff: the advent of complicated romances and comedies like "Delicatessen" and "Amelie". Even the best of Dorcel's recent releases are heavy, studied, condom-laden ("Miches" is performed bareback) and needlessly misogynistic, even by porn standards.
