The Dinner Game (1998)

Ever want to attend a dinner party simply to humiliate the guests right in front of them? That is the premise of Le dîner de cons, a comedy from Francis Veber.Thierry Lhermitte plays Pierre, the owner of the apartment in which this party is to take place. Here, he invites François (Jacques Villeret), who is not aware of Pierre's true intentions of the dinner. After a last minute cancellation, Pierre finds himself alone with François and tries to hide the secret that -- for lack of a better word -- he thinks François is an idiot and he was the main attraction for the party.Jacques Villeret is an absolute joy to watch in every single scene. He makes it look easy ranging from slapstick to complete absurdity. Villeret definitely deserved the César he received in 1999. You want more of him every time he's not on screen.Taking place mostly in one apartment, Veber's direction doesn't make it feel like you're watching a filmed play. It feels cinematic. While it's not a laugh a minute, it's without a doubt, a fun, enjoyable ride and Veber knows how to make it work.Having seen the remake in 2010 as "Dinner For Schmucks", Le dîner de cons is simply better in every aspect from writing to acting.The quick pacing and short length makes it enticing for another viewing. Even by the end there is a little moment of disappointment that the film is already over.9/10

I watched this after watching two of its remakes & God, was I bored? No. Not a bit. There's always gladness watching the original & after this, I wonder I could watch the play.Talking about two amazing characters who don't know each other, the plot revolves around how one of them invites the other to one of his parties where he'd deliberately make fun of him along with his friends. Classic story riddled with jokes, humorous dialogs & performance. I am stunned by one accident sequence as it was so original, I have never seen so authenticity in any accident sequence. Bravo to the makers!There are many scenes which you will be wanting to see again & again for the degree of slapstick involved is astronomical. Amazing! This is one reason, I love French cinema.BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended & it'd be better if you watch it first before relishing the remakes. 9.2 out of 10!Profanity/Sex/Mouth-Kiss: No | Vulgarity: Mild | Smoking: No | Alcohol/Drugs: Mild | Porn/Violence/Gore: No

Le Diner de Cons is, in every possible way, an enjoyable movie. It's funny, it's witty, it's well written, it's fantastically acted. In all honesty, though, I can't really see any justification for its cult status or the raving reviews; in the end, it's a comedy, and nothing more, and a pretty cruel and crude one at that, with an old-fashioned and non-PC value system, though it almost redeems itself in that aspect a couple of times. French culture and mentality do play a part, for sure, but frankly I can see the exact same movie being released in English and getting much less critical attention.But once again - the film is a comedy, and it's a funny one. And since it's a very minimalistic in scope and setting, the comedy rests mostly on the shoulders of the two leads, who both deliver hilariously. At under 80 minutes, it's just entertaining enough to make for a good watch and good fun.

This film does come with subtitles. This film is absolutely fantastic. It should have been far more recognised worldwide. Reminiscent of films like meet the parents where the characters constantly manage to get themselves into tougher and tougher and more cringe worthy situations. By the end of the film the audience feels very played with. Such a unique film, cleverly written with fantastic mise en scene. The film deals with some complicated and taboo issues yet confronts them daringly, even so much as to derive humour from it. It is impressive that the entire film is basically set in one location and still manages to draw so much drama and comedy and keep the audience interested. Definitely worth watching. You will not have experienced a film like this before.