Note: This photo is in black & white, but the movie is in color.

Rated PG 13

Directed by Francis Veber

Starring Jacque Villeret, Thierry Lhermitte, Francis Huster, Alexandra Vandernoot and Daniel Prevost

Heidi’s Illustrious Review: 3 (Worth Renting, if you like French films)

Word of Warning: You will have to read subtitles, so don’t schedule this movie during a meal. I have learned from experience, it is very hard to eat and read subtitles at the same time.

This movie is about a group of wealthy Frenchmen who participate in what they call “the dinner game.” The game involves each man trying to find an idiot to take to the reoccurring dinner party. The man who brings the biggest idiot is the winner. Winning is nothing more than bragging rights, but the group takes “the dinner game” very seriously. Obviously these are not nice individuals.  

While on a train, one of the dinner game players sits next to a man who makes toothpick creations; the Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge and so on and so forth. The man’s name is Francis Pignon and he is crazy about his toothpick master pieces. He is the ideal candidate for the dinner game and so Mr. Brochant, a publisher, invites him under the false pretense of being interested in publishing a book about Pignon’s toothpick engineering feats.

On the day of the dinner party, Mr. Brochant hurts his back playing golf and that’s not all, his wife has just left him. Pignon arrives at Brochant’s house, excited and anxious to be attending such an important dinner party – he previously agonized over his tie selection and nervously worried about the event with his secretary. Once Pignon arrives at Brochant’s swanky Paris flat, a chain of events is put into motion that will delight the viewer. We watch Brochant’s day go from bad to worse at the hands of his well-meaning “idiot” dinner date.

Peculiar in a French way, I enjoyed The Dinner Game. French comedies are always a bit quirky. Storylines are never too complex and there is usually a simple moral. This film reminded me of another amusing French comedy I watched recently called The Valet. Though these films require reading, they don’t require too much thought or reflection. Both are great movies to watch with your honey and a glass of red wine (French, of course).