Cheap The Dinner Game (DVD) (Thierry Lhermitte, Jacques Villeret) (Francis Veber) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Dinner Game

"I didn't expect her to be so cunning."
Once a week, on Wednesday nights, Pierre Brochant (Thierry Lhermitte) and his circle of snobby friends host an "idiot dinner." Each participant is supposed to invite a guest--the biggest idiot he can find. The object is a sort of idiocy one-up-man-ship as the hosts spend the evening encouraging the guests to talk about themselves and their obscure hobbies (one guest, for example, has a boomerang collection). The "idiot guests", of course, have no idea why they're invited, and they are delighted to find an interested audience. These guests then unwittingly provide the entertainment for the hosts, and the hosts' collective sense of superiority is re-enforced.

On this particular Wednesday, Brochant can't find an idiot, but he's tipped off about a certain Monsieur Pignon (Jacques Villeret), a jovial mild-mannered tax official--whose obsession is replicating national monuments by building models composed of matchsticks. Pignon's crowning achievement is a replica of the Eiffel Tower (346,422 matchsticks). So Brochant invites a delighted Pignon to the dinner. Complications arise, however, when Brochant injures his back and cannot attend the dinner. With Brochant trapped and housebound, Pignon is unleashed into Brochant's life. Pignon proceeds to demonstrate his idiot potential by his kind but bumbling blunders. Mishaps involve a zealous tax inspector, a disgruntled mistress, a distraught wife, a discarded ex-lover, and a wealthy Lothario with a secret love nest.

"The Dinner Game" is a perfect French comedy. It was originally a play, and you'll get the sense of that as the action takes place. Timing and execution are perfect. Some of the film is laugh-out-loud funny, but the amusement never loses its momentum in this perfectly paced film. The cast is excellent, and part of the humour is derived from the layers to fun to be had here. Sometimes two characters giggle at the misfortune of a third, but then, before too long, the focus of the humour shifts attention and discomfort to another character. The film doesn't miss a beat. If you enjoy French comedy, don't miss "The Dinner Game" from director Francois Veber. If you enjoy this film, I also recommend another Veber film, "The Closet"--displacedhuman.

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You'll laugh so hard you just might mess your pants...
...it's that funny! And yet, as mobby_uk observed, there is a poignancy underneath it all. Some are put off by the premise, a dinner that is a competition to see who can bring the most ridiculous guest. Don't be. It's an ugly idea but a deeply humane movie. Jacques Villeret's portrayal of François Pignon is side-splittingly wonderful, hilarious and touching. And writer/director Francis Verber, who also had a hand in writing La Cage aux Folles, is an international treasure.

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A very funny movie
I laughed so hard while watching this movie. A man invites a stranger to dinner, who he believes to be an idiot, so he can entertain himself and laugh at the idiot. Little by little, the idiot ruins the intelliegent/rich mans life, and one is not sure who the real idiot is. This is the kind of movie that could be real bad, but the actors have perfect timing and all the jokes work.

One other comment- for those learning French. I have been buying movies made in France to improve my speaking and listening skills. This movie is excellent for learning French, the words are the ones I studied using the first 26 lessons of "French in Action". Many of the common words begenners learn are repeated in this movie and are easy to understand.

The DVD is excellent. The colors are bright and rich and everything is crystal clear. I wish more DVD's had the same quality as this one.