It’s hard to imagine a comedy starring three of the most talented actors in France not being one of those witty farces at which the French excel. Yet “Potiche,” which starts with such promise, is ultimately as unsatisfactory as the life of the bored housewife at its center. The title can be loosely translated as “trophy wife,” and that’s exactly what Suzanne (played by Catherine Deneuve) is. Her only outlet for the energy crying for release is a notebook she carries to write banal poetry about flora and fauna. It’s 1977, but the women’s movement doesn’t seem to have yet reached her corner of France. Her husband, Robert (Fabrice Luchini), certainly hasn’t heard of it. When Suzanne tries to give voice to her views, he cuts her off: “Your job is to share my opinion. Don’t waste my time.” Never mind that it’s Suzanne’s father who founded the factory Robert now runs.

Suzanne gets her revenge, quite by accident. Robert falls ill from the stress of a workers’ strike, and she is forced to deal with the negotiations. She proves an able businesswoman, winning the rabble-rousers over with her unstoppable charm and perseverance — and a little help from an old lover, leftist mayor Maurice (Gerard Depardieu).