Tu, io e Dupree

I thought this movie was painfully slow. I also thought considering the comedic talent involved that it would have been much better. I think I chuckled at a couple of scenes but not once did I gasp out in laughter as what I would normally do if a comedy were in fact 'funny'. The main problem with the film is the severe lacking in the script department which left the actors no room to improvise and made them rather bleak and uninteresting people. It wasn't a terrible movie but very average!

Michael Douglas also was an unusual candidate to play along side the 3 main leads - as when it came to Douglas's scenes that is when the film draged the most. You are never really told the reason as to why he dislikes Matt Dillion's character so much - which seems to be a large portion of the plot?!

Kate Hudson was great as usual and did well considering what she was given - she looked insanely hot in that black bikini though!!!

In the Russo Brothers' disappointing You, Me and Dupree, Owen Wilson's Dupree expounds an existential philosophy of keeping one's own character, a "ness" tacked on to a first name, such as his best friend's (Matt Dillon) "Carlness." It's a good idea dramatically to remind us all of our uniqueness and the necessity to nurture and protect it from, say, marauding fathers-in-law (in this case Michael Douglas), who might want to efface our individuality as well as get us vasectomies.

Yet the philosophical theme doesn't fit this comedy as it might Chekov's. Dupree's warm-hearted house guest slacking tests the patience of Carl and new wife (Kate Hudson). I can't figure out what Carl's character is, much less know what's worth preserving. Duprees's immature, likable, sometimes witty persona is much easier to determine. Kate Hudson's Molly is even easier, however, because all she has to do is put up with the boys' adolescent behavior and show up now and then in a bikini or white panties with her yellow hair in a breeze to let us know she inherited all of her mom's (Goldie Hawn) good traits including the promise of fine comedic timing should a script offer the chance. This script offers stinky scatology and humorless masturbation instead.

Wilson is establishing himself as an accomplished light comedian with a regrettable tendency to play the same type of charming bumbler who always has a pithy remark to make himself the poetic soul of the piece. His recurring sides of wit and boyish mischief are keeping him in enough cash to keep him from his even more talented role as co-writer with director and buddy Wes Anderson. So, I ask myself, why doesn't he do only projects that suit his creative gifts—maybe because he's lost his sense of "Owenness."

Marriages can be hypocritical, and the blame always falls on the opposite party. Thus, when a marriage is portrayed in a movie, the protagonist is sometimes hard to identify. This is the case in You, Me, and Dupree, which presents all of its characters at once but gives us no one to root for. Surely they have their positive qualities, but unfortunately they are blindsided by the negative ones.

If one specific character cannot be our favorite, then we must equally support all of them: "You," Kate Hudson's Molly, is betrothed to "Me," Matt Dillon's Carl, who works for his father- in-law, Micheal Douglas' Mr. Thompson (okay, he can be "and"), and is best friends with Owen Wilson's "Dupree." Four principles, no protagonist. We want everyone to be happy, but they're just so hard to like.

Their involvement with each other begins when Dupree moves in with the newly-wed couple of Carl and Molly, who seem reluctant but generous enough to give him shelter for a few nights. Being an unmotivated leech, however, Dupree moves right in and begins making his presence more permanent than Kate and Molly are comfortable with. This sets the scene for some funny moments involving Dupree's befriending of all the neighborhood children, who probably share his intellectual level, but most of the Dupree-jokes involve feces, nudity, or sex, alone or otherwise. Toilet humor or not, it serves to buttress the point that Dupree just is not a likable person.

Lucky, then, that he's not the main focus of the story. That honor goes to Carl, who is simultaneously dealt two difficult situations: Dupree fowling his nest and Mr. Thompson trying to overlord his marriage to Molly, even suggesting that Carl voluntarily sterilize himself. We get the feeling that Mr. Thompson would take pleasure in doing the deed himself.

As I stated before, there is no clear protagonist. Molly waffles between inviting in and kicking out Dupree, Carl has outbursts resulting in physical pain (mostly his), Mr. Thompson is the father-in-law from hell we met in Meet the Parents, and Dupree will do anything to live off of someone else. They roar and they rampage until the end, but the concluding situation is calmed far to quickly and unrealistically, like a riot quelled in an instant. Many unnecessary jokes could have been replaced with plot development, but they still elicit some legitimate laughs, and that's why we came.

This is an extremely lazy slacker comedy. Owen Wilson overdoes his 'aw shucks' charm as a good for nothing who stays on as a house guest with his reluctant best friend. There are some comic moments but the film as a whole simply doesn't work. Why would anyone put up with someone as self-centered and obnoxious as Dupree? The film doesn't even bother to try. Kate Hudson looks good but has little to do. In fact, Matt Dillon and Michael Douglas, all play second fiddle to Owen. With a weak script and few laughs, this is pretty poor stuff,only watchable if you are completely bored.

Overall 3/10

Whenever a movie mistakenly thinks a bad pun of a tagline ("Dupree's a crowd" anyone?) is gonna rope in ye olde movie-going audience, there is officially room to be concerned with what you're about to watch. OK, so the tagline isn't as bad as some, but it is enough to raise a red flag. However, is it enough to indicate what's to come?

Welp, I'm happy to say that once again I'm gonna keep my distance from all your unfavorite (I'm makin' up words, baby!) stuffed-shirt critics out there who are giving You, Me and Dupree a merciless shredding because it doesn't meet the inherent level of pretension they so girlfriendlessly demand. That's right, folks. I, Johnny Betts, enjoyed You, Me and Dupree. I'm one of about three movie reviewers to boldly make that claim, but doggone on it, I'm sticking by it.

Granted, my enjoyment was heightened due to the fact that I kept my expectations low and didn't have to pay to see the movie, but I was entertained all the same.

It's only fair that I be perfectly honest and admit I'm somewhat easily amused when it comes to watching actors and actresses that I really like, and Dupree sports a great cast. Mileages will vary depending on your tolerance level of the actors involved.

Owen Wilson is one of my constant comedic favorites, once again displaying that crooked nose we all love and projecting child-like innocence with his signature charm. I also love his ability to sincerely deliver outrageous and cheesy lines in ways that make them seem not quite so outrageous or silly.

Then there's Kate Hudson, only the absolute cutest thing that Hollywood has going for it. She plays this role a little more low key than usual, but she's still irresistible, evidenced by her black bikini scene where she proves that she inherited what was always her mom's best *ahem* asset.

Rounding out the cast, straight-man Matt Dillon's cool as always, and Seth Rogen, though woefully underused, brings an impressive laughs-to-screen time ratio. Most of you will remember him from The 40 Year-Old Virgin, but he'll always be Ken Miller and Ron Garner to me. If neither of those names means anything to you then we need to have a serious talk about a couple of DVD sets you might want to consider acquiring.

Is this a film that'll find its way to the top of any of these actors' resumes? No. Is it a non-stop laugh-fest? No. Is it a film I can watch over and over and cry with laughter every time? Nah. Will you be disappointed if you're expecting something along the lines of The Wedding Crashers? Most likely.

After all, I never said the movie doesn't have its flaws. Some of the humor is a little too conventional and predictable, and the dramatic dialogue isn't exactly the most compelling to grace the screen, so no, this isn't gonna go down in the Book of Comedy Classics, nor do I feel a necessity to pencil it in as a future addition to my DVD collection (unless the special features are loaded with Kateness). But I found it to be a fun, light-hearted, silly way to take a 2-hour break from the real world. As I mentioned in the paragraphs above, its greatest strength is in its likable cast and their chemistry, and I appreciate the charm it displayed in never taking itself too seriously.

Plus, the majority of the screening crowd seemed to enjoy it. I've personally never had nor been a third wheel like Dupree, but those of you who can relate to such an experience might appreciate it on a different level.

I can't say that You, Me and Dupree is a film that just absolutely demands to be seen on the big screen, but it's certainly the kind of movie that you usually watch with friends and family where most everyone will walk away with a good chuckle, no one will be overly offended, Aunt Ella will comment on how "it was cute," no one's life will be dramatically altered, and Uncle Larry's uninvited segue into some boring recollections about his own "Dupree" experiences will wake everybody back up to their nightmare reality.

All in all, if you think no one can bring seven different kinds of smoke like Owen Wilson, and you find Kate Hudson to be seven different kinds of smokin' then there's something here for you to enjoy. Be it at a matinée or as a future rental. It might just help you discover your "ness."

THE GIST

You, Me and Dupree might not deliver two solid hours of nothing but out-loud laughter and the dramatic elements might falter at times, but there's no denying that the cast is great, and if you love those involved then you'll find some enjoyment here. I wouldn't pay more than matinée prices, and if you don't have a lot of spending money to throw around then just save it for a rental.