Jean-Marc Clément, a billionaire with a keen sense of satire, discovers that an off-Broadway revue intends to poke fun at him. Curious about the project, he attends a rehearsal and spots Amanda Dell performing Cole Porter’s "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." By a twist of mistaken identity, the theatre director believes Clément is an actor who should portray himself in the show, and Clément goes along with the ruse, adopting the name Alexander Dumas to see more of Amanda. The arrangement pulls him deeper into the rehearsal world, where the line between reality and performance blurs and he starts to enjoy the thrill of playing a role that isn’t quite his own.
As the rehearsal unfolds, Clément finds himself increasingly envious of Amanda’s attention to another actor, Tony Danton, even though Amanda’s real goal is to help Tony rise to stardom. To gain an edge and impress Amanda, Clément pulls off a bold play-acting masterclass of his own. He hires the era’s iconic stars—Milton Berle, Gene Kelly, and Bing Crosby—who appear as themselves to teach him how to tell jokes, move with rhythm, and sing with true charm. The gesture is grand and a little ridiculous, yet it deepens the spectacle of the backstage world where money, fame, and affection mingle in unexpected ways.
Meanwhile, a loyal employee who has supported Clément for years tries to protect the theatre by demanding a full year’s rent, threatening the revue’s future. In a move that doubles as both philanthropy and leverage, Clément steps in to fund the production, nudging it toward a grand, if precarious, future. Through these pressures, the two leads—Clément and Amanda—begin to share genuine feelings, complicating the deception and adding a tender undercurrent to the comedy.
Clément’s plan to reveal the truth reaches a turning point when he decides to come clean, but Amanda misreads his motives as a symptom of overwhelming method acting and even suggests he needs to see a therapist. The tension eases only after Clément orchestrates a confrontation—luring Amanda and the revue director to his offices under a carefully laid pretense—and presents his real identity. Amanda is initially angered by the deception, yet the emotional bond forged in the heat of the moment proves stronger. She forgives him as they collide in the building’s elevator, choosing to trust the man behind the masquerade.
The story unfolds with a light, meta-theatrical touch, exploring how show business can blur lines between performance and affection, truth and artifice, ambition and love. It treats romance as a backstage spectacle that can withstand misdirection, and it suggests that honesty, even if restarted from a clever ruse, may still win the day in the closing moment of a crowded, gleaming building. The film leaves audiences with a warm sense that life, much like a well-rehearsed scene, can pivot on a sincere confession made at just the right moment.
The cast features a memorable lineup that anchors the film’s humor and heart, including Fyodor Dobronravov as Taxi Driver, Kirill Malov as Igor Tyulenev, Eva Kolomiets as Liza, and Anastasiya Tsvetayeva as Prostitute.
