Anyone who goes to see the "The Dinner Game" hoping for a plateful of pure farce is going to be disappointed. Surprisingly, and to its benefit, the film serves a side of self-examination, and the result is all the more delicious.
Every group of friends has traditions all their own, their own quirky competitions, and Pierre Brochant (Thierry Lhermitte) and his opulent companions are no different. Their "idiot dinner" occurs every Wednesday evening and the rules are simple: Each player must invite the biggest imbecile he can find, and the prize goes to whoever can bring the biggest fool.
Written and directed by Francis Veber, "Le Diner di Cons" was nominated for six Cesar awards in France (It won three -- for best actor, supporting actor and writing). "The Dinner Game," like any good farce, follows a plot line that can be explained in one sentence, but really requires 20 pages. And as in other Veber works, timing is of the essence.
The film begins with the invitations. The viewer witnesses the bids from the victims' perspectives, however, and not the players' -- and as a result, one begins to question how fun this game really is.
The story opens the day before the dinner, and Pierre still lacks a dolt. When one of Pierre's colleagues encounters amiable divorcée Francois Pignon (Jacques Villeret) on a train, it's painfully obvious there's no need to search further. Pierre, a publisher, invites Francois under the pretense of writing a book about the simpleton's hobby: reconstructing famous engineering feats using matchsticks.
While Francois is busy in his office at the Ministry of Finance choosing which of two identical red ties he should wear to the big dinner, Pierre is busy on the golf course, where he severely sprains his back. Initially, Pierre decides to cancel the date, but when he sees what a prize the frumpy tax official is, he knows he must go through with it.
Meanwhile, Pierre's wife Christine (Alexandra Vanernoot), thoroughly disgusted with his pastime, drops him a phone message saying that she's leaving him. Exhausted of options, Pierre asks Francois to call Juste Leblanc (Francis Huster), his ex-best friend from whom Pierre stole Christine just two years earlier, to try and locate her.
To make matters worse, Francois accidentally lets word of the couple's split leak to Pierre's nympho-mistress Marlene (wonderfully captured by Catherine Frot), who insists on coming to console her lover.
Amid wonderful word play and hilarious dialogue, Pierre and Francois bring character after character into the equation as they attempt to track down Pierre's wife.
In the hands of Francois, a telephone becomes more dangerous than you could ever imagine, and just when things appear to be coming to resolution, the matchstick architect manages to muddle them again.
Veber knows how to make people laugh. Unfortunately his works, when adapted into American movies such as "Father's Day," "Jungle 2 Jungle" and "Pure Luck," have lost their edge. Dreamworks already has made a deal to adapt "The Dinner Game" for American audiences, who should do themselves a favor and see Veber's version before Hollywood gets a hold of it.
At the onset, we laugh because we don't know what's coming; later, we laugh and cringe because we do. Veber makes the switch at the appropriate juncture.
"Some idiots are flagrant," Pierre tells his wife at the beginning of the film. By the end, Veber has made an excellent point: Some idiots are not. Slowly, we begin to question what truly defines an idiot, and by the end of the film, the tide seems to have turned. The cosmopolitan has learned a lesson from the simpleton -- as Francois says, Pierre has "tidied up his whole life in an exemplary way."
Then again, maybe not. In the last two seconds, Veber turns the tide with one last laugh that ensures the audience will leave the theater still unsure of which character to sympathize with.
Above all, "The Dinner Game" is a fun film; despite its message, it remains appropriately simple. Francois' final admonition is clear: "Think twice before calling anyone an idiot," because what seems funny to one may be heartbreaking to another. "The Dinner Game" may be tragic for its characters, but it sure is entertaining for the audience.
Grade: B+
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