User reviews

"Le Diner de Cons" is one of those great comedies that the French know really well how to produce: The action is fast, the scenes are hilarious, and the viewer just can't stop laughing as totally extraordinary things happen in totally ordinary circumstances. The mastery in this type of films is that they need not be big-budget productions ("LDdC" has been actually shot mostly inside a single apartment), while they manage to achieve a very high rating for their impeccable viewing pleasure they bring to us.

"LDdC" is about a group of rather cruel friends, who have fun by organizing dinners in which they invite idiots and get amused by them. The winner is the one who will bring the biggest idiot, and Pierre (Lhermitte) thinks he was found the world champion in the face of Francois Pignon (Villeret). He therefore decides to invite him in his house for a drink, and then take him to the dinner. However, things do not go as planned, as during Pignot's stay in Pierre's house unbelievable things begin to happen...

Villeret is simply amazing in his role as Pignon, standing above everyone else in this film. This should not mean that the other performances are not good, however: In fact, everyone does a good job, despite the fact that most actors perform very short appearances.

"LDdC" is a movie that will make you laugh, but in fact, it will also make you think; behind the fun, the film conveys a very humane and meaningful message. Don't miss it! 9/10.

This is a very intelligent, hilarious, and slightly poignant movie. The 'dinner' of the title is a regular gathering at which some smug young Parisian gentlemen compete to invite the most amusingly ridiculous character as their guest. Pierre Brochant (Thierry Lhermitte) believes he has a sure winner in François Pignon (played brilliantly by Jacques Villeret) whose passion is the construction of intricate models from matchsticks. Ironically, it is Brochant who ends up looking the fool, morally if not intellectually. And it is the slightly sad but hilarious antihero Pignon who emerges as far the wiser of the two. Despite the premise, which seems to offends some delicate souls, this is a very humane, as well as witty, movie.

Before this film was released in 1998, it was, originally, a play. This play was performed on stage in 1993 and had a huge success. Francis Weber felt like adapting his play (he was the author) for the screen and he had a good idea. The action takes place in a beautiful Parisian flat. Pierre Brochant (Thierry Lhermitte) lives there and each week, he and his friends take part in a special dinner: a "dîner de cons". They've got to invite someone silly and the one who has found the best dumb is the winner of the evening. Brochant has chosen François Pignon (Jacques Villeret) and before going to the dinner, Brochant has invited him in his flat. Then, in a few minutes, everything's wrong: his wife's leaving him, he's got a backache, he's got to face his mistress etc.... and Pignon is a bit responsible for this! There are two main types of comic in this film: on one hand the comic comes from the dialogues which are very funny with a lot of successful puns. Moreover they're never vulgar. On the other hand, the comic comes from the situation where Brochant is: not only has he got to face Pignon but he's got to face unexpected events like the arrival of a fiscal inspector (Daniel Prévost). Above all, the film is worth watching for its incredible main actors: Lhermitte who is the perfect hypocrite and Villeret who is full of goodwill and kindness in spite of its idiocy and its naivety (in 1999, he won the Oscar for the best actor in France and he deserved it). Moreover, the other actors are very well used, especially Francis Huster and Daniel Prévost who are both excellent. The only weaknesses of this film are the moment where Prévost comes in Brochant's flat and then the plot is resolved very laboriously. The other moment is when Pignon is calling Mrs Brochant to tell her his real thoughts about her husband: you've got a quite conventional dialogue. Nevertheless, if you want to have a good time, watch this comedy it's worth watching!

A group of well-to-do snobbish and obnoxious professionals have dinner parties every Wednesday to which each of them is required to bring an "idiot" as a guest. The victims have no idea that they are invited merely to be humiliated and their boorish "sponsors" compare their notes later to determine whose "idiot" was the best. Pierre Brochant( Thierry Lhermitte), the smug publisher thinks that he's got a winner in the tax accountant François Pignon (Jacques Villeret, sadly passed away in January 2005 - great French Comedian whose performance in "Robert and Robert" I enjoyed very much) who reproduces the famous landmarks with the matchsticks and would talk about them with never ending enthusiasm. Unfortunately for Pierre (but fortunately for us, the viewers) he throws his back just before the dinner and has to rely to Pignon's sincere generosity. The tables are turned and look who is an idiot after all...

With the modest running time of 80 minutes, the "Dinner Game" is a delightful and very funny comedy. I would not expect anything else from Francis Veber, the director of Le Jouet, (1976) aka The Toy , La Chèvre, (1981) aka Knock On Wood, Les Compères, (1983) ... aka ComDads, and Les Fugitifs, (1986) and the writer for Le Grand blond avec une chaussure noire, (1972) ... aka The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe.

When I saw the face of Steve Carrel in "The Dinner of Schmucks" remake, I knew they got the meaning of the word totally wrong, 'cons' is not about being retarded or eccentric, it's a state of mind, something that doesn't strike the eyes, not at first sight anyway.

"Con" is a generic insult in France that takes a lot of meanings, it either refers to a dumb or extremely naive person, a socially awkward geek, a dork, someone so blinded by a passion that he can't realize how ridicule he is in the eyes of common people, stupid is not the most faithful synonym, because a 'con' can have a high I.Q, but what do they all have in common, they don't have the intelligence of the situation, and are the target of mean-spirited people who use them as foils to appear smarter, and that they can easily be fooled allows society to label them as 'idiots'. This is sad but true, and Veber's "Diner de Cons" aka "The Dinner Game" builds its plot on a cruel purpose with mean spirited snobs inviting idiots to elect a winner at the end of the evening, and Thierry Lhermitte aka Pierre Brochant, a wealthy publisher, is one of these bad guys.

There is a French word to describe a man like Brochant, a 'salaud', a bastard if you prefer, a guy eager to make fun of less smart people, while the so-called Dinner Game can be seen as a tacit bullying, all these dumb-chasers would argue that they don't harm anyone because the purpose of the game is not to let the idiots know why they were invited. It's like 'a crime without victims'. And the players really take their hateful game seriously, each participant having a sort of scout to find the right idiot, either a colleague eager to express some 'new' ideas, a man with strange hobbies, finding a good idiot is not that an easy task. And one day, Brochant receives a phone call from a friend who found a 'world champion': Jacques Villeret as François Pignon, a civil servant working in the Minister of Treasury and building replicas of landmarks with matchsticks, what a promising pedigree!

Many people tend to minimize the emphasis on the word 'con' by arguing that we're all the idiots of someone. While it might be true, it doesn't appear to be the message of the film where the personality traits are clearly defined. While not a plain idiot, Pignon is a sweet and lovable buffoon and despite his meanness, Pierre Brochant strikes as a brilliant and intelligent person. The film doesn't try to reverse roles to demonstrate the former idea, and the lyrics of the opening song brilliantly deliver the message that age has nothing to do with brains, when we're an idiot; we're an idiot, period. The genius little song from George Brassens foreshadows the inevitability of the mayhem caused by François Pignon, directly affecting Pierre Brochant's life. And it all starts with the nice twist (indeed) when Brochant hurts his back while golfing and is forced to cancel his participation. After discovering how brilliantly dumb François Pignon is, he decides to go anyway, much to the reluctance of his wife, who therefore leaves him.

The movie takes off when Brochant is left alone, incapable to move and with Pignon trying to help him, to see where his wife have gone. And as soon as the movie starts (the set-up took a little time, but for the best) the film features a succession of never-ending misunderstandings, gaffes, and remarkable displays of clumsiness that elevate "The Dinner Game" to a masterpiece level in the comedy of errors genre. Surprisingly, the film is mostly set in Brochant's luxurious apartment, conveying a sort of trapped sensation. The film is adapted from a play written by Francis Veber and the unity of time, space and plot contributes to a coherent plot getting crescendo, each disaster provoked by Pignon leading to a bigger disaster when he tries to make up for the first. In the progress, other characters make their entrance, Brochant's ex-friend played by a brilliant Francis Huster, Just Leblanc (whose name will create one of the most hilarious cases of misunderstanding in French cinema) not to mention the scene-stealing performance of Daniel Prevost as François's friend, a hard-nosed tax inspector. Alexandra Van Der Noot and Catherine Frot also deserve accolades for the two female parts that will get mixed up by the poor Mr. Pignon.

The casting, while minimalist, is enough to conduct the movie with laughs and laughs, creating one of the greatest and most unanimously praised French comedies and Veber's true masterpiece. Indeed, Veber's comedies often relied on the simple but efficient buddy duo, with the white-faced clown and the Auguste, when the laughs mostly came from the reactions of the straight guy rather than the actions of the funny one, but this time, there's also a cynical yet delightful pleasure from seeing the Lhermitte character so tormented. His nightmarish journey seems deserved, and it would take a lot of pains to feel sorry for him because his wife left him, after all, she left him because he wanted to play a humiliating game. Not a villain or an antagonist, he's still a hardly redeemable character, and all the laughs are mixed with the satisfaction to see him get through this pain. As he'd say to Pignon, he avenged in one night all the idiots who ever participated to dinner games before, and he couldn't be truer.

But as usual, Veber films don't take their 'seriousness' with seriousness, when we know where the film is going to, we're immediately surprised by a twist that gets the final spice, a masterpiece of wit, sophistication, laughs and cynicism, leading to one major conclusion : never take one's personality for granted. Indeed, just because someone looks and sounds like an idiot doesn't mean that he is not one.

Pierre Brochant and his friends have a weekly dinner party where each invites an idiot they meet to attend. They then let the `idiots' talk and laugh at them - each week the winner is the one who brings the biggest idiot. However this week Brochant's idiot, François Pignon arrives at his house to find that he has injured his back and cannot go. About to leave, Pignon stops when the answer-phone reveals a message that Brochant's wife is leaving him. He tries to help the situation and Brochant sort of needs him to, but he can't help but make things a little worse every time.

The premise of this film made it sound like it was set at the dinner party of the title and it put me of a little as I didn't like the cruel sound of it. However the actual plot occurs in Brochant's flat, but it does still have a cruel streak that is a little unpleasant. Because Pignon is such a nice little man it is hard to see him so openly reviled and mocked by Brochant, I know the plot requires it but it was done with more than a little malice and at times left a bitter taste in the mouth. However, for the majority the film is actually very funny in a slight way. The laughs generally come from buffoonery from Pignon at Brochant's expense!

The plot does turn around to be one of lessons towards the end which is good, and the story does have a good message of acceptance through it. The actors do pretty well with their broad characters, although they are allowed a little expansion towards the end of the film. Lhermitte's cold hearted bastard is a little to hard and cruel without enough in the way of being judged by the film. Villeret makes the film and perfectly makes Pignon a likeable and warm little fellow but still undeniably makes him the type of person who you would cross the road to avoid. The beauty of this is that, when Brochant learns his lesson, we as the audience also learn something too. Support roles are good but this film is mostly a double-hander which the two leads carry well.

Light and funny despite the slightly cruel nature of the plot, this film is well worth a watch. The humour is very much situation based and relies on plot devices to move it on, but it's quite fresh and amusing and makes for an enjoyable 90 minutes.

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

The wealthy editor Pierre Brochant (Thierry Lhemitte) and his friends have a competition: every Wednesday, each one of them invites the dumbest jackass he can find for a dinner, where each one of the guests is invited to talk about himself as much as possible. Later, after the guests say goodbye, the group of friends makes fun and elects the more stupid and imbecile guest. Pierre invites François Pignon (Jacques Villeret), a man that works in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and makes "maquettes" of matches to forget his beloved wife, who had went away with a friend of him two years ago, for the dinner. However, a tough pain in one vertebra of his spinal column does not allow Pierre to meet his friends for the game and he stays alone with solicitous, but clumsy and stupid François in his apartment. Every attempt of François helping Pierre goes wrong, becoming the night of Pierre a terrible nightmare.

"Le Diner de Cons" is a witty theatrical movie, practically set in the room of an apartment. However, on the contrary of what a reader may think, it is one of the best comedies I have ever seen, and I do not recall the last time I have laughed this way. The work of Jacques Villeret as an authentic jackass, with a stupid grin and trying to help Pierre, is amazing. The dialogs and situations are very intelligent and hilarious. I highly recommend this film, awarded with three "César" and two "Lumiere Award", for one of those days when the viewer is upset or stressed, for a perfect relaxation. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Jantar dos Malas" ("The Dinner of the Jackasses")

Refreshing comedy replete with subtlety, punning and panache, this film evidently derives from a stage play (confirmed by a French contributor in his commentary). Witty repartee flows throughout its eighty minutes (slightly shortened here in Spain in a recent viewing on TV), allowing diverse nuances as the situational comedy builds up and becomes intermeshed in cross-purpose intentions and priorities.

Almost `borrowing' from the classical theatre of this genre, such as `Boeing, Boeing' back in the late fifties, `Le Dîner de Cons' is a refined comedy almost totally carried out in a luxury Parisian flat. Jacques Villeret is magnificent as a steadfast modeller with match-sticks - the invited idiot. His playing of the part keeps on line, such that it never veers off into the ridiculous or absurd, and the result is enchanting, charming, endearing. Well supported by Lhermitte, Huster and Prévost above all, the dialogues are at once sharp and hugely touching. Unfortunately, of course, you will lose a lot of the wit in any sub-titled or dubbed version, so do get your best French well and truly polished up.

Totally different Franco-Belgian `comedy' but with that transcendental background, is the highly recommendable film `Le Huitième Jour' (1996) (qv) directed by Jaco van Dormael. In both cases my reaction is the same: Chapeau! Merci beaucoup!

Both these films are thoroughly enjoyable.

"Le dîner de cons (Dinner Game)" is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. I have been watching it for more than twenty (20) times, and every time I could capture new details and see it under new angles, making me laugh again and again. Jacques Villeret (aka Francois Pignon) and Thierry Lhermitte (aka Pierre Brochant) both play great roles and I particularly liked a couple of scenes (plus many others): 1) where Francois Pignon has been asked to call Just Leblanc and received very confusing explanation from Pierre Brochant about how someone's name could be "just" Leblanc and 2) of course the phone discussion itself where finally Francois Pignon makes a movie production deal with Just Leblanc, but eventually forgot to mention Pierre's wife... Lots of hilarious situations and true overall Chef d'Oeuvre!

I found this movie engaging and amusing. I must say, though, I am surprised at the degree of extreme enthusiasm being voiced by many of the people who have placed comments.

The keyword for me was that this movie, more than anything, AMUSED me. Yes, there were some laugh out loud scenes, but not in any great abundance, and certainly not enough to earn this movie the status of a "great" comedy.

There were a few major scenes, each of which delivered, on average 1 to 2 (2 is generous) good laughs. Certainly you could do worse than that when watching a comedy, but I would be curious to see where other people were so overwhelmed with laughter while watching this when i found myself often content but bordering underwhelmed.

Oh I have to say though - the ending was perfect

The Dinner Game (1998)

2/4

I found this film a bit of a chore to sit through. There's a few genuine smiles and laughs, but so what? It's only 76 minutes, and I wasn't interested for much of the way.

The plot is about a gathering of a few friends every week for dinner, and each time they gather, they bring a moron. Whoever brings the stupidest man wins. Down on his luck, Pierre hasn't been able to find one yet, but comes in luck when he meets Francois on a train, where he drops almost everything out of his briefcase. After talking to him, Pierre thinks he has a winner. But on the day of the dinner, while playing golf, he injures himself, and has to stay home, where he's stuck with Francois. What a surprise, indeed.

Sometimes, I was unable to identify if this was a comedy or not, and the only signs are by the filmmakers writing in an 'idiot' who turns out to be just as smart as the rest of the bunch. It's often boring, this movie, because not a lot lands and it's just one lame moron cliche after another. Granted, there are a few smiles, but that gets old real quick. What's even more interesting is that the moron, however stupid he may be, is actually just as smart as the main characters, who are not too intelligent, either. It's a waste of time, and an all around bore. It's not worth 76 minutes for a few smiles, I'd say. It's a lousy idea for a full length film, and is suited more for a bad sitcom of French films. Oh, well.

This movie is really incredible. I laughed from the beginning to the end. I watched it in french and i dont know if it has been translated, but if you know french, you must go watch this movie. It contains so many jokes and crazy situations that nobody would like to be in. The actors are great and the "con" looks like a real one ;)

FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY, if you want to laugh all the night go see this!! this is not only a recommendation, this is almost an order!

«Le dîner de cons» is one of the best film by Francis Veber. Funny, witty and intelligent, the movie tells the story of a group of men who are playing a strange game. The winner is the one who can find the perfect «con», the king of idiots! From beginning to end, this movie makes you laugh. Excellent performances by Thierry Lhermitte (one of the top French actor today) and Jacques Villeret. Watch it again, you'll laugh more than the first time!

7 out of 10.

Go see it now in Francais now before the Americans get a hold of it and screw up another perfectly good Veber movie, as usual. (I can't wait to see what bodily fluid gets fashionably added to the Lafitte Rothchild '78 in the US version. Ugh.)

This movie was lots of fun to watch, especially in my French class! The entire class was laughing during the course of the film. It is sort of like "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" with a twist. You hate Pignon, but at the same time you love him. It might not be 'slap-stick' enough for kids, but adults are sure to enjoy it for its subtleties and the thought of "Oh jeez, that could be me." There are moments where you feel sorry for the characters too. This is pulled off extremely well for a movie that seems so... silly!

Though I do wonder about what it would be rated in English. The swearing and a sexual reference or two make me waver between PG-13 and R. If you want to learn French swear words, this movie is basically the guide.

Amazing! This word describes perfectly the simplicity and the incredible sense of humour of this movie! The plot is really too straight to follow, as it is very simple: Pierre and his friends do, once a week, a "special dinner" to make fun of stupid guys they meet, and their absurd stories. They call it "idiot's dinner". For them it's like a championship where they try to find the dumbest guy on earth! But this time Pierre can't go to the dinner, because he hurt himself when he was playing golf, so he must stays in his own home. However, he had already invited Mr Pignon (the dumb guy) to the dinner and when Mr Pignon arrived, Pierre's nightmare will begin!

This movie is really funny because it transforms little common circumstances into hilarious sequences! For example, a simple phone call is turned into a hilarious scene! I mean, I cried of laughing when I was watching this movie! There are four/five scenes that are really funny and simple at the same time. It proves that is not needed a large budget to make a great film. In fact, this movie even seems to be adapted from a theatrical play. I don't know if it is or not, but it seems so, because of the simplicity of its setting (almost all the film is shot inside Pierre's apartment).

About the acting: It's done a very good work, especially by Jacques Villeret, the actor which plays Mr Pignon's character. He's really impressive as a dumb! He's truly a world champion!

It's not the first time I watched this movie, I had already seen it some years ago when it was released in theatres; but today, when I watched it on DVD, I laughed as much as I was seeing it for the very first time!

Le Diner de Cons is, in every possible way, an enjoyable movie. It's funny, it's witty, it's well written, it's fantastically acted. In all honesty, though, I can't really see any justification for its cult status or the raving reviews; in the end, it's a comedy, and nothing more, and a pretty cruel and crude one at that, with an old-fashioned and non-PC value system, though it almost redeems itself in that aspect a couple of times. French culture and mentality do play a part, for sure, but frankly I can see the exact same movie being released in English and getting much less critical attention.

But once again - the film is a comedy, and it's a funny one. And since it's a very minimalistic in scope and setting, the comedy rests mostly on the shoulders of the two leads, who both deliver hilariously. At under 80 minutes, it's just entertaining enough to make for a good watch and good fun.

Situation comedy has got itself a bad name over the years, but at its best, this is undeserved - think, for example, of 'Fawlty Towers', of which this film reminds me. The similarities are clear: exaggerated but essentially believable characters pushed into absurd situations by malign circumstances; great writing; and impeccable performances, which in 'Le Diner du Cons' come from the perfectly balanced double act of Thierry Lhermitte and Jaques Villeret. Moreover, the particular premise - of the comeuppance of a smug Parsian bourgeois who invites idiots to dinner to laugh at them - is fresh, and while this might not be the deepest of movies, it never over-cooks itself and leaves you after just 75 minutes still wanting more: a light and delicious movie.

Pierre Brochant (Thierry Lhermitte) and his friends have a contest for every Wednesday dinner that consist in invite a fool that they know and have fun with them all the dinner. Pierre find in Francois Pignon (Jacques Villeret) his own gem for the dinner but he can't go due to a problem with his back. Now Pierre must deal with this fool all the night in his apartment.

A couple of months ago i watch a film of Francis Veber for the first time in a festival and i enjoy it so when i found a DVD of another film of Veber i decide to get it. I didn't know what to expect of "Le Diner de cons" but if i were expecting a very funny comedy with an hilarious character, definitely this film was the perfect to fill my expectations. I really like this film, first because it has a very original contest as the main subject that is very cruel too,but we never see the reactions of Pierre's friends about Pignon, actually the entire film is in Pierre's apartment so the characters must have a lot of great lines and funny situations to keep going with the film in the same place. And that's the second thing i really like of this film, the character of Pignon. This man could be a really headache to anybody who meet him, making any situation a big problem. And is played in a great way by Jacques Villeret. The support characters are just fun, specially Pignon's friend who loves football (that scene, when both are talking in the phone, in probably my favourite).

And the final message of the film could be the classic one, actually it is but the very last scene is really great and change everything because after all, he was just a complete fool.

Conclusion: i enjoyed a lot this film,which runtime is only 80 minutes, and left me desires to continue checking Veber's filmography. And yes there is a good message for all the Pierres around but also another that says: don't trust in fools. 9.5 out of 10

This French Comedy is better than America's some what classic Dinner at 8. Both films fall under the comedy genre but only, The Dinner Game is funny! An interesting cast of characters, The Dinner Game, much like the dinner in Dinner at 8 never happens. The movie is more about the pre-dinner events as oppose to the dinner itself. A stage comedy, much of the movie happens in one location. A delight and a surprise, the movie is very enjoyable and suitable for most of the members in your French or American family. Thierry Lhermitte is wonderful. His ignorant innocence makes you laugh out loud. He is the backbone of the movie and the draw of the biggest laughs.

Francis Veber wrote and directed La Doublure, which was cute, creative, light and fun, so we figured Veber's Le dîner de cons would be another winner. What a disappointment! The premise had promise. The acting was excellent. The characters worked. The movie flowed somewhat logically, and the ending was great...yet something was terribly wrong. Instead of laughing out loud as we did during La Doublure, we cringed as one stupid thing after another happened to people we didn't like or care about. It wasn't funny: it was embarrassingly dumb. In La Doublure, the main character may have been down and out, but he was a genuinely nice person, and we wanted him to succeed; here, everyone was either rotten or downright dumb. We lost interest in everyone, and thus lost interest in the movie.

I saw this film last night and I was laughing so hard I could not breathe and could not see from my tears. I chose to watch this French original over the US remake Dinner for Schmucks. The humor comes from situations the misunderstandings. The story is refreshingly simple, the script is perfect, and the acting is superb. This film also shows how one can create excellent entertainment with low budget (a fantastic value). The film is in French and I watched the DVD with its excellent English subtitles. The story could happen almost anywhere in the World, which makes this movie universal, not just uniquely French. I highly recommend it to anyone 14-and-up seeking a true comedy.