Le Dîner de Cons

I saw this movie in Paris when it first came out. I was quite pleased and laughed hard throughout. I actually saw it again on the plane back to New York and laughed again. Excellent film. I also enjoyed Les Compères and Le Chèvre by Veber. it's good to see some quality comedy in french cinéma.

I fully enjoyed this movie, and with all subtitled films after a while you forget they are there. The idiot, Pignon was an excellent character, who definitely by his sheer ineptness was marvellously funny, although when I went to see it, there were people in the audience who sort of laughed in between the general funny bits. They presumably were French which leads me to believe The subtitled translation loses something, but then doesn't it always? Language nuances are hardest to translate and often fail.

I thought I liked French films. I thought they were subtler, more sophisticated, funnier. This film taught me that it is foolish to make generalizations of that sort. This movie is juvenile and idiotic. It is predictable, trite, simplistic, and (worst of all) unfunny. It is more worthy of American television than of French film. I was startled by how bad it was. What a waste of time.

I just watched this and I am still laughing! This is an excellent comedy with loads of surprises, really great casting and good pacing. I haven't laughed out loud like that in quite a while and I'm hoping this director or writer has some more great movies.

...It has relocated to another country. This was a surprisingly funny, and subtle movie in a summer filled with movies that feel the need to beat you over the head with their humor. I never thought I would say this, but some American filmmakers could take a lesson from this hilarious French farce. Watching this movie, it's hard to believe it was made in the same country that worships Jerry Lewis. A very funny and worthwhile film with good performances all around matched by a clever script. I read that Steven Spielberg was so impressed by this, he is planning to make an American version with Robin Williams. All I can say is, well, at least it's not Jim Carrey.

This is a true and timeless classic French comedy. The excellence in terms of its execution by the writer, director and actors is superb. I understand it was a play and won several "Oscars" from the French Academy. Predictably, it was purchased by a U.S film company -- fortunately a very good one. Even the director is going to be the same for the remake for the U.S. market. If only they could use the same brilliant actors for the remake -- then the gem would be duplicated.

This is the only Francis Veber movie I've seen that I really didn't like. Somehow, it all came across to me as extremely annoying. The acting was very good. A few things made me laugh. But ultimately, it grated on me, and as it progressed, it got worse and worse. SPOILER ALERT, a man and his friends think it's funny to find total idiots, invite them to a dinner, and make fun of them. This makes his wife so angry that she walks out. He then meets a real idiot, and invites him to dinner. As the movie progresses, the idiot gets worse and worse -- he really does seem to be a complete idiot. But what's the point? Are we supposed to laugh at the idiot? Are we supposed to enjoy the man's sadistic glee at finding such a perfect idiot to laugh at? Ultimately, I could not enjoy the idiot, who really was incredibly and ridiculously annoying, and neither could I enjoy the sadism of the man (I was glad his wife walked out).

A guy and his elitist friends have a game where he who brings the biggest unsuspecting idiot as a guest wins. This backfires when one of the guys invites a lovable yet rather naive person who turns his life upside down without intending to do so. They never make it to the party because the "idiot" ruins his host's health, relationship, tax record, apartment ..... The wordplay in French (sasoeur anybody) cannot be translated and therefor this movie can only be really enjoyed in its original version. On a personal note - this is the movie I would rate as the funniest intelligent comedy (PERIOD). Nothing needs to be blown up, no cake has to hit a face to make this one a 10 !

I really had a good time while watching this movie. It's funny, well acted and the tempo/comedic timing is perfect. It feels more like a filmed play than an actual movie (the action pretty much takes place in the same place throughout the entire movie), but that doesn't deter from the fun.