Palais Royal! by Valérie Lemercier (France, 2005, 100 min.). Known best in the U.S. for her intense performance in Claire Denis’s Friday Night, Valérie Lemercier is one of France’s most irreverent comics. In Palais Royal!, she brings her considerable talents as writer, director, and actress to this wickedly funny tale of a reluctant princess. Armelle is a speech therapist and the mother of two; her husband, Arnaud, happens to be the younger brother of the next in line for the throne. When the king suddenly dies and Queen Eugenia (Catherine Deneuve) decides to hand the throne to Arnaud instead, Armelle is thrust into the national spotlight, and starts to learn things about the royal family she scarcely suspected. Lemercier is terrific as Armelle, transforming herself from a friendly commoner to a force of aristocratic power and privilege. Any resemblance to any contemporary European royals is, of course, coincidental. Description adapted from the Film Society at Lincoln Center.