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Alibi.com (2017) movie poster

Characters & Themes

Alibi.com (2017) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language
2017 · 90 mins · French
Starring
Nawell Madani, Nathalie Baye, Philippe Duquesne, Kad Merad, Didier Bourdon, Michèle Laroque

Greg establishes Alibi.com, a company specializing in creating custom alibis for clients, with the help of his associate Augustin and new employee Medhi. They design elaborate stratagems to conceal clients' activities, but Greg's life becomes complicated when he meets Flo, a woman suspicious of dishonesty. His secret profession is threatened when he discovers Flo’s father, Gérard, is also a client. The situation escalates during a meeting with Gérard’s family, forcing Greg to confront the potential exposure of his unusual business.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Characters explained (6)
  2. 2 Where & when it takes place
  3. 3 Themes & meaning (3)
  4. 4 Character & meaning questions
  5. 5 Movie threads
  6. 6 Every angle

6 main characters · contains spoilers

Alibi.com Characters Explained: Who Is Who

The main characters of Alibi.com (2017), heroes and villains: what drives them, how they change over the course of the story and what each of them reveals about the film's bigger ideas.

  • Grégory Van Huffel (Philippe Lacheau)

    Grégory Van Huffel runs Alibi.com and crafts elaborate lies to help clients conceal infidelity. He is charming and entrepreneurial, yet his personal life becomes entangled when he falls for Florence. His willingness to bend the truth for love clashes with Florence’s insistence on honesty, forcing a reckoning about what he is willing to sacrifice for romance.

    • ❤️ Romance
    • 🕵️‍♂️ Deception
    • 💼 Corporate ethics
  • Florence Martin (Élodie Fontan)

    Florence is a sharp, principled lawyer who believes honesty is the foundation of a healthy relationship. Her skepticism toward Greg’s line of work creates immediate tension between them. She values transparency and seeks to align her romantic life with her moral convictions, even as she navigates complex emotions.

    • ❤️ Romance
    • 🗣️ Communication
    • 🧭 Honesty
  • Gérard Martin (Didier Bourdon)

    Gérard is one of Greg’s clients who seeks to secure an alibi for his actions. He embodies the convenience and danger of using deception to manage appearances. His interactions with Florence’s family reveal the wider human costs of hiding the truth behind a well-crafted alibi.

    • 🕵️‍♂️ Deception
    • 👫 Infidelity
    • 💼 Business
  • Marlène Martin (Nathalie Baye)

    Marlène is Florence’s mother, a perceptive observer of the frictions within the family. She navigates the tension between appearances and reality and questions the choices her husband makes. Her perspective helps anchor the family drama and exposes the ripple effects of secrecy.

    • 👪 Family
    • 🗣️ Confrontation
    • 🧭 Honesty
  • Cynthia Bellini (Nawell Madani)

    Cynthia is a client of Alibi.com whose use of the service triggers a chain of events that exposes the limits of lies. She embodies the reclaiming of power through bold action, ultimately choosing to reveal the truth publicly. Her decisions catalyze the film’s commentary on accountability and transparency.

    • 🗣️ Exposure
    • 🧭 Autonomy
    • 💥 Repercussions
  • Mr. Godet (Kad Merad)

    Mr. Godet is a senior client whose needs reveal the business-driven side of the alibi industry. His interactions with Greg underscore the blurred boundaries between professional and personal life. His presence helps illustrate how clients’ secrets can entangle the lives of those around them.

    • 💼 Client
    • 🕵️‍♂️ Deception
    • 🤝 Relationships

Last updated: March 24, 2026 at 19:58

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Setting

Where and When Does Alibi.com Take Place?

The setting of Alibi.com (2017): the year and time period, the places and locations, and how they shape the characters, the mood and the tension of the story.

Time period

Location

Cannes, France, French countryside country house

The story moves between a chic setting in Cannes, highlighted by the hotel where Gérard and Cynthia cross paths, and a rustic country house in the French countryside where Florence and her family gather. The Cannes scenes emphasize secrecy and social maneuvering, while the country house sequences reveal family dynamics and the cost of lies. The contrast between urban, transactional spaces and intimate domestic spaces underscores the film's exploration of deceit in everyday life.

  • 🎬 Cannes
  • France
  • 🏡 Country house
  • 🗺️ French locations

Last updated: March 24, 2026 at 19:58

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3 major themes

Alibi.com Meaning: Themes & Message Explained

What is Alibi.com (2017) really about? The emotional, social and philosophical themes the film keeps returning to, its symbolism and the message beneath the surface.

  • Honesty vs Deception

    Greg builds a life around fabricating alibis, while Florence anchors her relationship in truth. Their conflicting beliefs about honesty set off a cascade of misunderstandings and comic complications. As deceit deepens, the film probes whether lies can protect love or inevitably corrode it. Ultimately, the story weighs the costs of transparency against the comfort of secrecy.

  • Consequences and Accountability

    Deception reverberates beyond the couple, affecting families and the clients who rely on alibis. Characters face moral decisions as secrets surface and loyalties are tested. The climax, including Cynthia’s decision to publish Alibi.com's customer list, pushes everyone toward accountability and public judgment. The film suggests that avoidance through clever alibis is fragile and unsustainable.

  • Dual Lives

    Greg leads a double life as an alibi broker while pursuing a romance with Florence. Florence’s commitment to openness clashes with Greg’s professional disguise, creating ongoing tension. The narrative uses the double-life motif to examine how people present themselves and how private wishes collide with public personas. It highlights the fragility of privacy in modern relationships.

Last updated: March 24, 2026 at 19:58

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Character & theme questions

Alibi.com Characters & Meaning: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask about Alibi.com (2017): who the characters really are, their relationships, what the symbols mean, where it takes place and what the movie is really about. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Where is Alibi.com set?

Alibi.com takes place in two main settings: the glamorous city of Cannes on the French Riviera and a rustic country house in the French countryside. The Cannes setting features upscale hotels and social venues where the alibi business operates, while the countryside house serves as the setting for Florence's family gathering. The contrast between these locations emphasizes the divide between the public, transactional world of deception and the private, intimate world of genuine relationships.

  • cannes
  • french countryside
  • setting
  • locations
  • france
Q2

What is the main theme of Alibi.com?

The central theme of Alibi.com is the conflict between honesty and deception in relationships. The film explores whether lies can ever protect love or if they inevitably destroy it. Greg builds his career on fabricating alibis for unfaithful partners, but his pursuit of a genuine relationship with Florence, who values truth above all, forces him to confront the moral costs of his profession.

  • honesty
  • deception
  • theme
  • relationships
  • trust
Q3

Who is Greg Van Huffel in Alibi.com?

Greg Van Huffel is the protagonist and founder of Alibi.com, a company that creates elaborate alibis for clients seeking to hide infidelity. Played by Philippe Lacheau, Greg is charming and entrepreneurial, but his double life becomes complicated when he falls for Florence, a lawyer who strongly believes in honesty. His professional deceptions conflict directly with his personal desires, creating the film's central tension.

  • greg
  • van huffel
  • protagonist
  • alibi.com
  • philippe lacheau
Q4

Who is Florence Martin in Alibi.com?

Florence Martin is the female lead and love interest of Greg, played by Élodie Fontan. She is a sharp, principled lawyer who believes honesty is essential for a healthy relationship. Her strong moral stance against dishonesty creates immediate tension with Greg's alibi business, and she serves as the moral compass throughout the film, challenging Greg to examine his own values.

  • florence
  • martin
  • élodie fontan
  • lawyer
  • honesty
Q5

What is Alibi.com in the movie?

Alibi.com is the fictional company founded by Greg that specializes in creating custom alibis for clients who need to hide their activities, particularly infidelity. The company designs elaborate schemes and cover stories to conceal clients' secret behaviors. The business serves as the movie's central premise, enabling the comedy of errors when Greg's professional life collides with his personal relationships.

  • alibi company
  • business
  • alibis
  • service
  • profession
Q6

What does Alibi.com say about consequences and accountability?

Alibi.com explores how deception affects not just romantic relationships but also families and clients. The film shows that avoidance through clever lies is fragile and unsustainable. When client Cynthia decides to publish Alibi.com's customer list, characters are forced to face public judgment and accountability. The story suggests that secrets inevitably surface and that taking responsibility for one's actions is necessary for genuine resolution.

  • consequences
  • accountability
  • secrets
  • exposure
  • client list
Q7

What does Alibi.com explore about double lives?

Alibi.com examines the theme of leading double lives through Greg's situation. He maintains a professional persona as an alibi broker while trying to build a genuine romantic connection with Florence. The film explores how people present different versions of themselves to the world and how private desires conflict with public personas. This tension highlights the fragility of privacy in modern relationships and the difficulty of maintaining authentic connections while hiding aspects of one's life.

  • double life
  • secret identity
  • privacy
  • persona
  • conflict
Q8

What role does family play in Alibi.com?

Family dynamics are central to Alibi.com's story. Florence's family, particularly her father Gérard who is secretly a client of Alibi.com, and her mother Marlène who questions the family's choices, represent the wider consequences of deception. The film shows how one person's lies ripple through family relationships, affecting trust and creating tension between appearances and reality.

  • family
  • gérard
  • marlène
  • parents
  • dynamics
Q9

What is the tone and style of Alibi.com?

Alibi.com is a light-hearted French comedy with a fast-paced, straightforward narrative driven by farcical situations and coincidences. The film uses comic complications, such as characters converging at the same location and discovering hidden connections, to generate humor. While there is steady comedic tension from the threat of Greg's secret being exposed, the stakes remain relational rather than serious, leading to a happy resolution where characters find redemption and reconciliation.

  • comedy
  • tone
  • humor
  • style
  • light-hearted
Q10

Why are Cannes scenes important in Alibi.com?

The Cannes setting in Alibi.com represents the world of secrecy and social maneuvering where the alibi business thrives. The glamorous hotel environment emphasizes the transactional and deceptive nature of Greg's profession, where appearances matter more than truth. These urban, sophisticated locations contrast with the warmth and authenticity of the countryside house, highlighting the film's exploration of honest versus dishonest relationships.

  • cannes
  • hotel
  • setting
  • secrecy
  • glamour

Movie threads

More Movies Like Alibi.com, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Alibi.com tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies about tangled lies and comedic deceit like Alibi.com

Fast-paced comedies where a simple lie spirals into a chaotic, hilarious mess. If you liked the escalating farce and awkward misunderstandings in Alibi.com, you'll enjoy these movies where a simple lie spirals out of control. This collection features similar fast-paced comedies centered on deception, secret identities, and the hilarious chaos of trying to keep up a charade.

  • farcical
  • awkward
  • playful
  • misunderstandings
  • escalating
  • comedic tension
  • Tone: light, playful, farcical
  • Pacing: fast, escalating
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The core pattern is a character, often well-intentioned, who creates a false identity or tells a significant lie. This deception immediately complicates their life, especially their romantic or family relationships. The plot is driven by a series of escalating coincidences and close calls, forcing the protagonist into ever more ridiculous situations to prevent exposure. The resolution typically involves a cathartic, public reveal followed by forgiveness and a happy ending.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped by their shared engine of comedic tension: the constant, low-stakes threat of a secret being revealed. They share a fast pacing to keep the farce moving, a light tone that ensures the stakes feel relational rather than dire, and a focus on the awkward, playful humor that arises from social deception. The emotional journey is one of mounting pressure and eventual, satisfying release.

Romantic farce comedies with a secret like Alibi.com

Lighthearted romantic comedies where a big secret jeopardizes a new relationship. Fans of the romantic dilemma and secret-keeping in Alibi.com will love these similar movies. This thread gathers lighthearted rom-coms where a character's hidden life or profession creates a cascade of funny, awkward situations that threaten a budding romance before a happy resolution.

  • romantic
  • farcical
  • lighthearted
  • secret-keeping
  • awkward dates
  • double life
  • Tone: light, romantic, comedic
  • Pacing: fast, comedic timing
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The story follows a protagonist who meets someone new and promising. Early on, they make a choice to conceal a key aspect of themselves, often fearing judgment. As the romance blossoms, the secret becomes harder to maintain, especially when their worlds collide in unexpected ways (e.g., the love interest's parent being a client). The second act is a series of comedic set-pieces where the protagonist narrowly avoids exposure. The third act culminates in the secret being revealed, leading to a crisis and a final, heartfelt reconciliation that reaffirms the connection.

Why they belong together: This thread connects movies through a specific romantic-comedic structure: the 'secret-as-obstacle.' They share a light emotional weight, ensuring the drama is playful rather than painful. The pacing is brisk to maintain comedic momentum, and the tone is consistently warm and humorous, even during moments of tension. The focus is on the relational stakes and the humor derived from the protagonist's increasingly desperate attempts to juggle their dual lives.

Every angle

Alibi.com (2017) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Alibi.com in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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