My Dinner with Andre (1981)

Two old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.

Director:

Louis Malle

Writers:

Wallace Shawn (screenplay), Andre Gregory (screenplay)

Stars:

Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn, Jean Lenauer

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Andre Gregory	...	Andre Gregory
Wallace Shawn	...	Wallace Shawn
Jean Lenauer	...	Waiter
Roy Butler	...	Bartender

Storyline

Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory, apparently playing themselves, share their lives over the course of an evening meal at a restaurant. Gregory, a theater director from New York, is the more talkative of the pair. He relates to Shawn his tales of dropping out, traveling around the world, and experiencing the variety of ways people live, such as a monk who could balance his entire weight on his fingertips. Shawn listens avidly, but questions the value of Gregory's seeming abandonment of the pragmatic aspects of life.

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Plot Keywords:

dialogue driven | two hander | cult favorite | coffee | montauk long island | 

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

11 October 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Dinner with André

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,073, 16 May 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,250,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Saga Productions Inc.,The Andre Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lloyd Kaufman of Troma, Inc. was production manager and his fledgling company provided support to the making of this film. This was one of his first credits.

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Goofs

Wallace Shawn's hair varies from neater to messier and back again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Wally: The life of a playwright is tough. It's not easy as some people seem to think. You work hard writing plays and nobody puts them on. You take up other lines of work to try to make a living. I became an actor and people don't hire you. So, you just spend your days doing the errands of your trade.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: Remembering Gene Siskel (1999)

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Soundtracks

First Gymnopédie
Written by Erik Satie
Performed by Joseph Villa
[performed over the end credits]

User Reviews

This must be one of the most boring and self-absorbed films there is

This movie was a true chore to watch. I don't know why it is seen by some as an artistic film--unless "artistic" means painfully dull and uninteresting.

The entire plot is about two uninteresting people having dinner. The less annoying one (Wallace Shawn) is in awe of how brilliant Andre is, while I felt that Andre was mostly full of crap. Andre was a pseudo-intellectual character that delights in his own importance. If I had wanted to see such an obnoxious and self-important people, I would have watched an episode of Frasier--at least he and Niles are funny as well.

My advice to Andre is STOP talking. Please for the love of God, stop talking!