THE DINNER GAME (LE DINER DE CONS) (Lions Gate) Starring: Thierry Lhermitte, Jacques Villeret, Francis Huster, Alexandra Vandernoot, Daniel Prevost, Catherine Frot. Screenplay: Francis Veber, based on his play. Producer: Alain Poire. Director: Francis Veber. MPAA Rating: unrated (could be PG-13 for adult themes, profanity) Running Time: 80 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
Francis Veber writes an interesting brand of farce. For 25 years, he has been the master of French high-concept comedy -- LE GRAND BLOND AVEC UNE CHAUSSEURE NOIRE, MON PERE CE HEROS, LE JOUET, LES FUGITIFS, LES COMPERES. Where most farce either soars or crashes, Veber's occupies a little-seen middle ground: funny enough that people like it, but not so spectacular that it intimidates Hollywood's remake-happy execs. "We can do this even better," they quite reasonably say to themselves. They then proceed spectacularly not to do so -- THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE, MY FATHER THE HERO, THE TOY, THREE FUGITIVES, FATHER'S DAY. The simple talent for being just entertaining enough suddenly doesn't seem quite so simple.
THE DINNER GAME (LE DINER DE CONS) is quintessential Veber. The concept begins with the titular mean-spirited amusement, a weekly challenge among several friends to bring the guest that's the biggest loser, entirely unbeknownst to the mock-ees. The story takes a turn, however, when Dinner Game participant Pierre Brochant (Thierry Lhermitte) throws out his back on the evening of the dinner, preventing him from attending. Unfortunately, Brochant's "guest" -- sadsack bureaucrat Francois Pignon (Jacques Villeret) -- is already on his way to Brochant's flat. Thus begins a comedy of errors as the bumbling Pignon tries to help Brochant with various problems, from his aching back to reuniting him with his estranged wife Christine (Alexandra Vandernoot).
Set almost entirely in Brochant's flat, THE DINNER GAME certainly feels like the stage play adaptation it is. Occasionally, that means the film feels claustrophobic, with people waiting for phones to ring or doors to open. Veber can be something of a minimalist farceur, his direction taking the Blake Edwards route of getting out of the way of comic situations rather than trying to contribute much to them visually. His best trick is cutting to stone-faced reaction takes by Lhermitte and Francis Huster (as Brochant's pal), and his pacing isn't exactly spectacular, especially in an 80 minute film. By no means is this a film-maker without his flaws.
As a writer, however, Veber does know how to set up a gag and knock it down. There are punch lines in THE DINNER GAME that should be obvious from the moment they're a speck in the distance, yet somehow they still manage to zing. Much of the credit for their success goes to Villeret, a round-faced actor with a wild fringe of hair who could pass for a young James Coco. Villeret's Pignon is an exaggerated creation, to be sure, but his bizarre goofs are made endearing by his obvious desire to be liked; he's like a Great Dane who wags his tail so hard he knocks over everything around him. THE DINNER GAME generates some big-time laughs, and does generate momentum towards its climax, when a visit by a tax auditor (Daniel Prevost) creates even more chaos.
Veber does predictably try to find a moral to the story, allowing Brochant to learn a lesson about using cruelty as a spectator sport. It's a token effort, since neither Veber nor Lhermitte seem much interested in developing Brochant as a character until the final five minutes. There are also a couple of jokes that just don't work in translation -- puns that feel too forced, and a put-on Belgian accent that's only as riotous as your familiarity with Belgian accents. Still, THE DINNER GAME amuses and entertains persistently, if not consistently, mining its basic dolt-with-fuming-straight-man premise for all it's worth. That final point should be emphasized, since the Internet Movie Database notes that Veber is preparing his own English-language version of THE DINNER GAME. He should know by now that one moderately appealing comedy is generally all his farces are worth.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 reasonable farces: 7.
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