A reworking of a Istvan Szekely's 1931 comedy classic Hyppolit a Lakaj, this film, directed by Barna Kabay was a huge success in its native Hungary. The Schneider family has grown rich from a transportation company that inept patriarch Matyas inherited from his father. They live with all the trappings of bourgeois success -- a house, a heated pool, and a poodle. But when Matyas' wife learns that a butler is de rigueur for a socially-minded family, she immediately hires Hippolyt -- a dauntingly rigid man from the old school of starched tuxedos and white gloves. Soon Hippolyt has whipped the family into shape by having them eat a strict vegetarian diet, go to the opera, and attend yoga classes. He also sets up their vivacious daughter with the dull son of a local politician. Yet the Schneider family's previous uncouth behavior does not yield quite as readily as their butler would like.
by Jonathan Crow
synopsis
