A gem of a
comedy! This clever French farce
begins with invitations to a dinner party. The hosts are sophisticated men of means,
position, and pretension. Each host invites an "idiot" to dinner, and whoever
brings the most ridiculous guest wins a contest. The helpless guests are led to believe
that they are honored with the opportunity to share their lives and special interests.
We use the word "idiot" because the literal
translation of the French title is Dinner of Idiots, and the word is used frequently in
the subtitles. The guests, however, are far from lacking intelligence. They are merely
good-hearted, quirky geeks akin to the characters made famous by Jerry Lewis, perhaps the
most beloved comic among the French. Their hobbies actually reveal a level of expertise in
areas that might seem mundane to most of us. In fact, in an Internet world, they might
well be leaders of an eccentric chat group. The label "idiot", as one might
suspect, is really more aptly applied to the hosts.
The main idiot in this movie, Pignot, is played by the
rolly polly, frizzy haired, and balding Jacques Villeret who was awarded the
César (the
French equivalent of the Oscar) for Best Actor. Pignot works as the French income revenue
accountant, and he spends his free time making large match stick models of famous
buildings, airplanes, and the like. He is inordinately proud of his creations and loves to
go on-and-on about the minutiae used in their production such as: the number of matches,
the tubes of glue, the precision of the match placement, etc. Pignot believes his
invitation to dinner is a thrilling chance to share his hobby as a prerequisite to
authoring a book about his models. In fact, his host is a publisher who lures him with the
suggestion of a book deal.
The publisher injures his back and must cancel the
dinner with his cronies and their idiot guests. We never actually make it to dinner, but
Pignot ends up at the publisher's posh apartment, portfolio of photos of his
creations in hand. In well intended
fumbling, mostly of the tongue, but some of the slapstick physical variety, Pignot makes a
mess of the publisher’s life in a few short hours. The publisher is played with
ingenuity and great timing by the handsome blue eyed Thierry Lhermitte who won the
César for
Best Supporting Actor.
The Dinner Game dialog is clever with the comedic
timing ticking like Cartier clockwork. Much of the general havoc comes through clever use
of the telephone, which almost comes to life as a kind of character. When it rings, we
begin laughing in salivating expectation of some new comedic twist. The dynamism of the
characters counters the static setting in the publisher’s apartment, which might
otherwise have given the film too much stagy stodginess.
While the naïve Pignot plunges into every opportunity
to impress his host, he grows in our hearts as a lonely man who finds solace in his
strange hobby and joy in being needed. His host, on the other hand, becomes ever more
despicable with his insatiable need for entertainment at the expense of Pignot’s
humiliation. We gradually see through the fabrics of both lives and conclude the real
idiot may very well be the one who judges and not the one who is judged. We are all in
some ways fools, are we not? In fact, as the often too sad and bitter history of human
vanity and posturing teaches us, it is the one who laughs only at others who is truly
dangerous. In a rather touching moment, Pignot rises way above his obvious shortcomings to
reach out and touch the heart of another person. With his simple, yet authentic nature,
Pignot is able to achieve far more in a single conversation than his host could have done
in his entire life. In fact, the publisher’s entire life stands as a testament of his
emotional incapacity. In some way, this simpleton leaves us with the sense of wonder about
the precious aspects we fail to notice in people.
Like much of Francis Veber’s work in France, Le
Dîner de cons (1998) was a big hit at the box office. He won the
César for
Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for best director. The movie received two other
nominations. We bet it will be nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Apparently,
DreamWorks SKG is slated to remake this film in English, collaborating closely with Veber.
Perhaps, Robin Williams will star.
Francis Veber was one of the writers of La Cage Aux Folles
(1978), aka Birds of a Feather. Veber also co-wrote the American remake The Birdcage (1996) starring Robin
Williams. Both versions are riotous, insightful comedies based on an older gay couple
trying to act straight for the son who wants to marry the daughter of a stuffy government
official. The hilarity accelerates when the prospective in-laws are invited to dinner at
the apartment and love nest above a gay night club owned by the boy’s father and
headlining the father’s tempestuous lover. The earlier movie was set in St. Tropez
and the latter remake in South Beach, Miami.
Dinner Game doesn’t venture into the
insightful exploration of gay identity, pride, and acceptance that formed the profound
core of the earlier Veber works. At the same time, it achieves a similar level of depth as
a stinging indictment of those who judge others. Interestingly, all three films revolve
around the difficulties experienced with the politics of dinner parties. To Veber’s
credit, in La Cage Aux Folles, he attacked the pomposity and ridiculousness of
conservative figureheads, while in the Dinner Game, he exposes the foolishness of
those who consider themselves sophisticates and connoisseurs of liberal living.
Dinner Game proves again that
some of the funniest films are not necessarily coming from Hollywood. If
the remake is done half as well as the original, it should be worth
transliterating into Hollywood English. We thank Lion's Gate for bringing
this wonderful production to the United States.
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