La cena dei cretini

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.

«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.

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 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")

Note: On 22 January 2025, I saw this film again.

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.)

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!