Mr. Blake at Your Service! (French title: Complètement cramé!), also titled Well Done!, is a 2023 French-Luxembourgish comedy film directed by Gilles Legardinier (in his film debut) and co-written by Legardinier and Christel Henon. It is based on Legardinier's own 2012 novel Complètement cramé!
Andrew Blake (John Malkovich) is a widowed British businessman. He takes a butler job in a manor house in France simply because he wants to stay there as it used to belong to his late French wife Diane (their romance started there many years ago). He then navigates the eccentric behavior of the lady who now owns the manor, a widow named Nathalie Beauvillier (Fanny Ardant), and the household staff, including majordomo Odile (Émilie Dequenne).
This film provides examples of the following tropes:
- Bizarre Beverage Use: Odile prepares a mix of several alcoholic beverages to clean the manor's toilets.
- Domestic Appliance Disaster: On his first day as a butler, Blake goofs up right away as he lets an iron burn a newspaper he was supposed to slightly iron in order to make the letters' ink dry so Nathalie won't have ink on her fingers.
- Eating Pet Food: One day, for lunch, Blake eats something he thinks Odile prepared for him. Turns out she prepared it for the cat, but it was apparently good and tasty enough for a human as well.
- Funny Foreigner: Blake having to adjust to French expressions and the butler job is source of comedy, but so are the quirks of his French employers.
- Headphones Equal Isolation: Housemaid Manon doesn't hear Odile's calls and orders when she has her headset on.
- Impoverished Patrician: Nathalie owns the manor, but she isn't rich, especially since the death of her husband. She even intends to turn some of the manor's rooms into a bed and breakfast, something Odile did in her back (the advert Blake answered to).
- The Lost Lenore: The death of his wife motivates Blake to move to France at the place where their romance once started and take a butler job so he can stay there.
- Malaproper: Philippe keeps calling Blake other names that (almost) sound like "Blake". He admits he's not good with names, so Blake instead proposes that they call each other by their first names.
- Mistaken for Thief: When seeking his cellphone he lost on a forest ground full of autumn leaves, Blake finds himself suddenly at gunpoint by Philippe, the neighbor of Nathalie, who thinks he's part of the thieves who stole him tools. Blake almost gets killed when he runs away as Philippe fires a shot, but the two have a cordial drink next when Philippe comes to understand who Blake really is.
- My Secret Pregnancy: Manon hides her pregnancy to Nathalie, fearing she would get fired because of it.
- Nice Guy: Blake is always well-meaning, even if not quite suited for the butler job and voicing his opinions out a bit too much.
- Not a Morning Person: Blake has to adjust and wake up early once he takes the butler job. And take a cold shower every morning as well.
- A Place Holds Memories: Blake becomes a butler at a French manor because his romance with his late wife started there.
- Teacher/Student Romance: The romance between Blake and his French wife started when he was hired to give her English language lessons.
- Title Drop: Odile tells Blake he's "Complètement cramé!" ("completely burnt", which in that case means "completely crazy") when he lets a hot iron on a newspaper, which burns the newspaper.
- Use Your Head: The first time he has to serve tea to Nathalie, Blake bumps her room's door with his head so he can keep both hands on the tray.
