Le Dîner de Cons (1998)

A few friends have a weekly fools' dinner, where each brings a fool along. Pierre finds a champion fool for next dinner. Surprise.

Director:

Francis Veber

Writer:

Francis Veber

Stars:

Thierry Lhermitte, Jacques Villeret, Francis Huster

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thierry Lhermitte	...	Pierre Brochant
Jacques Villeret	...	François Pignon
Francis Huster	...	Juste Leblanc
Daniel Prévost	...	Lucien Cheval (as Daniel Prevost)
Alexandra Vandernoot	...	Christine Brochant
Catherine Frot	...	Marlène Sasseur
Benoît Bellal	...	Host 1
Jacques Bleu	...	Host 3
Philippe Brigaud	...	Tanner (boomerang thrower)
Michel Caccia	...	Guest 1
Laurent Gendron	...	Guest 2
Mykhaël Georges-Schar	...	Host 2
Edgar Givry	...	Cordier
Pierre-Arnaud Juin	...	Boissonade
Daniel Martin	...	Messignac

Storyline

To amuse themselves at a weekly dinner, a few well-heeled folk each bring a dimwit along who is to talk about his pastime. Each member seeks to introduce a champion dumbbell. Pierre, an avid participant of the game, runs into one problem after another that devilishly compromises his secrets, turning the tables on him and his objective, which diverges as the movie progresses. Firstly, wishing to be certain he has selected a winner, he invited his guest, Mr. Pignon, to meet him at home before setting off; but night of all nights, Pierre has put his back out and it is questionable whether he can manage to get to the dinner. The blundering Mr. Pignon will continually spring forward to help relieve Pierre of his troubles, which have drastically compounded, pointing in the direction of friends, taxes and women, and Pierre's dimwit Pignon accordingly will prove his substance to the end.

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Plot Keywords:

huis clos | french | france | reference to astrology | reference to a zodiac sign | 

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Taglines:

A feast for the senseless.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gérard Depardieu was considered for the role of Pierre Brochant.

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Goofs

At the beginning, the train has two locomotives, then with four, then back to two.

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Quotes

François Pignon: Do you sleep with all your editors?
Pierre Brochant: None of your damn business!

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Connections

Remade as Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

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Soundtracks

Le temps ne fait rien à l'affaire
Written by Georges Brassens
Performed by Georges Brassens
© 1961 Editions musicales 57

User Reviews

Hilarious - definitely recommended

I'll keep it short and sweet. This movie was hilarious - even if you've never watched a French movie in your life, this is one of the quirkiest movies you'll ever see. I was laughing the entire time. The acting was good and the directing average. But the writing and screenplay were absolutely fantastic. You don't need to know French to watch it as long as you can get your hands on a copy with subtitles. Many foreign movies require you pay attention to the imagery, etc., thus making it hard for those needing subtitles. In this one the script carries the movie. I watched Le Diner de cons about 5 or 6 years ago, and it definitely sparked my interest in foreign movies 10/10

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

15 April 1998 (France)

Also Known As:

Le Dîner de Cons

Filming Locations:

Evecquemont, Yvelines, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF82,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,520, 11 July 1999

Gross USA:

$4,071,548

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,071,548

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont, EFVE, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 75 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1