Recent Reviews for The Dinner Game (Le Dîner de cons)
Recent Reviews
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MCT:August 31, 2008Francis Veber can always find a way to creat a hilarious story out of ordinary characters and moments we experience in life. Simple begining, but as it progress we learn more about each characters and things got more complicated. I especially loved the ending.
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MCT:August 2, 2008I saw The Valet a while back and remembered enjoying it. It felt very much like an old-school Hollywood comedy, so I thought I'd check out some more films from filmmaker Francis Veber. The first one that caught my attention was Le Diner de cons or The Dinner Game. It was the premise that made it sound so promising. A well off guy, Pierre, and his friends organize a dinner where they have a competition to see who can invite the biggest idiot. Something totally original sounding and a plain good idea to start a film with. What kind of morons will be there? Will the guests figure it out? Will they get revenge on their snooty hosts?
The film starts out by introducing us too some of these nincompoops, but the cake is taken, when we meet François Pignon. The guy oozes simpleton; a perfectly round, balding head, a really bad suit and constantly perplexed expression. He works in a tax agency, but his true calling in life is building models of famous items out of matchsticks. Pierre hears about the legendary dunce that is Pignon, through a friend, and invites him to dinner, thinking he has himself a winner.
The interesting thing about this film, is that these two never make it to that dinner. Pierre throws his back out, so Pignon meets him at his house, thinking that Pierre wants to see photos of his models. Instead he ends up taking care of Pierre, who along with a bad back, is having problems with his wife. Pignon's wife left him not too long before and sees a fellow in need of help. His complete ineptitude in conversing with anyone, brings Pierre even more problems. Crashing down upon him are his nutty-mistress, a scorn friend who can do nothing but laugh at his misfortune, his wife's lover, and another tax agent with a nose for fraud. In one night, his life is destroyed beyond recognition.
The dialog is so brilliantly hilarious, the story built so perfectly, the characters portrayed so beautifully, that you don't care that most of the film takes place in one room. François Pignon is one of cinema's all time great comedy creations, actor Jacques Villeret, embodies a character so hopelessly inept, but so full of compassion, that it's impossible not to love him. Poor Pierre is helpless as Pignon tears his already crumbling life into tiny pieces, but we're shown that he deserves it, and none of it's done maliciously, so it's easy to laugh at his misfortunes. The Dinner Game provided the most gut busting laughs I've had in a long time. Although, I still want to see the film about them making it too that dinner.
Originally posted on: What I Watched Last Night -
MCT:May 7, 2008The story really impress me, in someway touching, in someway funny, very well interpreted and incredibly imaginative. Really like it, but the *con* is sooo stupid :-P Makes me laugh ^^
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MCT:May 5, 2008
I never thought a french film could be this funny, its a great film the part of the idiot is played stupenduosly and the interaction between the characters works very well.
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MCT:March 16, 2008really amusing - but not quite as funny as I expected it to be. Then again, what do I know of French comedy?
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MCT:March 12, 2008LE DÎNER DE CONS (1998)
directed by Françis Veber
starring Jacques Villeret, Thierry Lhermitte, Françis HusterIn 1993, Françis Veber wrote the play Le dîiner de cons which starred Jacques Villeret. After being a huge success Veber decided to adapt it for the cinema, with Villeret in the same role. It gave us one of the funniest French movie ever made, and Veber is responsible for many of those hilarious French comedies, but this one, should be crowned as the best.One a week, a book editor and his friends have a dinner. Each of them invite someone, but that person needs to be, a dummy. The one with the dumbest dummy wins the dinner game.
This week, Pierre Brochant beleives he has a winner, a world champion when he invites François Pignon, a man who collects and builds building with matches as a hobby. Unfortunately, Brochant hurt himself playing golf and cant go to the dinner, but Pignon shows up at his appartment and while, filled with good intentions, he keeps messing and screwing things up. It never stops when Brochant's wife leave him, his mistress wants to come visit him and more and more.
Thierry Lhermitte is Pierre Brochant. He plays in the right tone and is the one punctuating the laughs after a mess by François Pignon, played wonderfully by Jacques Villeret. He is a likeable character but we cant help laughable at his dumbness and mistakes.
Le dîner cons is a one-joke film, but it works. It sets things up slowly at first and becomes more and more hilarious until the end. Its easily one of the funniest film Ive seen.
In the end, the humor is always kinda clever, playing with words and the characters turn out to be more than just jokes and show real dimensions, which is kind of sweet.
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MCT:February 1, 2008I didn't really find the movie that funny, but over time it's proven to be at least an entertaining way to kill some time on slow afternoons.
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MCT:January 19, 2008Yes, it's true, someone thought this a very clever script. Mon dieu! You hear about these kinds of people, those who think so highly of themselves that they feel free to judge the "idiots" of the world, or, as Francis Huster, the least talent-laden actor here mentions, those wonderful people who invite "ugly" men/women to parties in the hopes of winning recognition for bringing the "ugliest," but you never want to meet people like this, have them as friends, or associate with them in any other conceivable way. So, being careful to avoid these people in real life, the last thing you'd want is to be forced to watch them in action in a movie. If there's anything funny about this --
Well, I take that back. I kind of smiled at one point. Let's see, the biggest asshole in the movie, who is also cheating on his income tax, has his undeclared fortune in paintings and sculpture discovered by a tax inspector. The inspector vows to audit him. I did kind of chuckle at that. Just desserts and all.
All in all, however, like the bad play script in must be when staged, a dreadful piece of merde.
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MCT:January 13, 2008
A goofy little film that has the appeal of a short stage play. Knowing nothing about it before hand, I was expecting the film to take place during the dinner that is mentioned, but it's always fun to be surprised.
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MCT:January 1, 2008
it has funny n real context tho i was nearly mad at le con in da film lol n its theme song was interestin n funny too anyway cannot imagine there is such le con but les cons do exist!!!
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MCT:December 19, 2007
To me, this is the most hilarious movie ever. But then again, I don't enjoy that many comedy movies (the majority bore me). The reason is because it is a witty film
filled with numerous puns that add to the richness of the humour.
I read the storyline and I have to admit that this sounds quite dull. Well hello narrow-minded people! Whoever said a few lines could account for a whole film? There isn't much depth to it (hello, this is a comedy!) but honestly, it's so funny you'll die of laughter. I swear I was crying all through it.
Watch if you liked Dick and Jane, RV or some Louis de Funès stuff (him again :D). -
MCT:December 18, 2007No other movie in the world can be funnier than this classic. I laughed my heart out for the whole runnigt time.
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MCT:October 5, 2007
My hope is that this one is NEVER remade in English by Hollywood, as other French comedies in the past have been massacred, diluted and "Americanized". Let's leave this treasure alone. I challenge Hollywood to come up with two more perfect actors for this role. Who can be as urbanely supercilious as Thierry? Who can be such an oafish dolt as Jacques?
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MCT:September 25, 2007
A very well plotted movie, with a ridiculous series of unfortunate events. Absolutely hilarious, very well acted, and fun for the whole family. A comedy classic in any language.
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MCT:September 19, 2007
it's as good as le père noël est une ordure, which is a another great piece of french humor. i laughed many times at all the stupidness of the characters, because believe me, everyone has a bit of stupidity in this film. great cast and nice scenario!
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MCT:September 7, 2007
this is a funny french film. every wednesday night a group of friends get together for dinner. the object is to bring an "idiot" friend along and make them feel like idiots. but one night, one of the idiots gets a bad pain in the back as has to stay longer than usual. and then the tables get turned once he realize why he was invited in the first place. the substites are great. but you need to pay a bit of attention to the movie.
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MCT:September 7, 2007Well I have seen very few foreign language films. This movie did nothing for me. Did not find it in the least bit funny. Found the characters irritating.
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MCT:August 20, 2007
The French are seriously not given enough credit for their awesome sense of humor. This is one of the greatest comedies out there...
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MCT:August 12, 2007
By far the greatest comedy. Classic, cute humor that just becomes great since its made by the french. love it
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MCT:July 30, 2007
Boa comédia, com poucos recursos e interpretações carismáticas! Certos momentos, dá a impressão de estarmos de frente à uma peça de teatro, pois o filme é concentrado, quase todo, em uma locação apenas. Mas vale pelas situações inusitadas elaboradas com criatividade!
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MCT:July 23, 2007
This movie is hilarious, there are several laugh out loud funny parts, and the ending is great. However, there are a lot of slow parts that drag and drag, but it is in the top 15 funniest movies ever made.
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MCT:July 20, 2007
Tres drole. Un con mais un con. C'est facile de se retrouver dans un film aussi con car nous avons tous con. Une bonne recette(pour un scenario) c'est quelque qui touche tout le monde a la fois et qui n'est pas bien exploite. Etre con, ce n'est toujours aussi facile.
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MCT:June 29, 2007
This is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen in any language. I am a huge Thierry Lermitte, but the directing is notable for this movie.
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MCT:June 26, 2007
this is 1 of my all time fav, just too much jokes in 1 movie. eveytime i think of it i always laugh out loud.
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MCT:June 26, 2007
This is the funniest french movie I have ever seen... If you speak, know, or hear french and understand it, GO RENT THIS MOVIE! It's absolutely hilarious!
