Well into his sixties, iconoclast director Bertrand Blier continued to provoke Cannes audiences with this absurdist sex comedy in 2003. Les Côtelettes profiles the antics of two aging friends/antagonists who battle for the affections of one's maid. Leonce (Philippe Noiret) and Potier (Michel Bouquet) are polar opposites: the former a liberal member of the bourgeoisie, complete with a well-groomed son and an attractive mistress; the latter, a curmudgeonly right-wing ne'er-do-well who lives to upset the status quo. When Leonce's housekeeper Nacifa (Farida Rahouadj) enters the picture, the two become rivals, each attempting to bed her -- but both find themselves equally drawn to the attractive specter of Death (Catherine Hiegel) that appears before them. Les Côtelettes began life as Blier's stage play before the director committed it to the big screen.