Le Dîner de cons
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| Le Dîner de cons | |
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| Directed by | Francis Veber |
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| Produced by | Francis Veber |
| Written by | Francis Veber |
| Starring | Thierry Lhermitte Jacques Villeret |
| Distributed by | Gaumont |
| Release date(s) |  15 April 1998 |
| Running time | 87 min |
| Language | French |
Le dîner de cons (English: The Dinner Game, literally: The Dinner of Idiots) is a French film directed by Francis Veber that was released in 1998. It is a cinema adaptation of the theatrical play of the same name.
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[edit] Plot
Pierre Brochant (Thierry Lhermitte), a famous Parisian publisher, attends a weekly "idiots' dinner", where guests, who are prominent Parisian businessmen, must bring along an "idiot" of whom the other invitees can make fun. At the end of the dinner, the evening's champion idiot is selected.
Pierre Brochant manages, with the help of an "idiot scout", to find a "gem": François Pignon, a Finance Ministry employee who is crazy about building replicas with matchsticks. Things start to go haywire when Brochant's wife leaves him shortly before François Pignon arrives at his apartment. When Pignon arrives, he tries to help Brochant, but makes many bad mistakes. Eventually, he brings in his friend, a tax auditor, who makes an unpleasant discovery about his own wife. It is easy to pity both of the main characters, M. Pignon for being made fun of and used in such a cruel way, and M. Brochant, who has, in one night, lost his wife, suffered a wrenched back, reconciled with a former friend, been audited for tax evasion, called a raunchy sex addict named Pascal Meneaux and dumped his extra-marital girlfriend, all because of the badgering guest who won't leave.
M. Pignon eventually discovers the truth behind the dinner that Brochant wanted to take him to and tries to make up for all his wrongdoings by calling M. Brochant's wife, who got into a car accident after leaving the apartment, and makes no mistakes in this conversation, as well as making up almost perfect excuses on the spot and with no prompting. but after apparently remedying the problem, Pignon messes up yet again after he picks up the telephone when she calls to talk to Brochant despite having previously told her he was in a phone booth.
[edit] Cast
- Jacques Villeret: François Pignon
- Thierry Lhermitte: Pierre Brochant
- Francis Huster: Juste Leblanc
- Alexandra Vandernoot: Christine Brochant
- Daniel Prévost: Lucien Cheval
- Catherine Frot: Marlène Sasseur
- Edgar Givry: Jean Cordier
- Christian Pereira: Le docteur Sorbier
- Pétronille Moss: Mademoiselle Blond
[edit] Other adaptations
This film has been remade in Hindi as Bheja Fry (2007).
An American remake starring Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd called Dinner for Schmucks is scheduled for July 23, 2010.[1]
A Chinese remake of the film comes in the form of a stage show at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre starring Canadian freelance performer Dashan as Pierre Brochant.[1][2]
[edit] Awards
- César Award 1999 : Best Actor for Jacques Villeret
- César Award 1999 : Best Supporting actor for Daniel Prévost
- César Award 1999 : Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted) for Francis Veber
[edit] External links
- Le dîner de cons in PDF, Francis Veber Play at FranceInfo.US
