Le Dîner de cons
Encyclopedia
Le Dîner de Cons marketed as The Dinner Game in the USA
, is a 1998 French comedy film
written and directed by Francis Veber
. It is a cinema adaptation by Veber of his play Le Dîner de Cons
.
, attends a weekly "idiots' dinner", where guests, who are prominent Parisian businessmen, must bring along an "idiot" who the other guests can ridicule. At the end of the dinner, the evening's champion idiot is selected.
With the help of an "idiot scout", Brochant manages to find a "gem", François Pignon, a Finance Ministry employee whose passion is building replicas of landmarks with matchsticks. When Brochant starts to suffer from a bad back, his wife, Christine, leaves him shortly before Pignon arrives at his apartment, as she realizes that he still wants to go to the "idiots' dinner". Brochant initially wants Pignon to leave, but instead becomes reliant on him, because of his back problem and his need to resolve his relationship problems.
He solicits Pignon's assistance in making a series of telephone calls to locate his wife, but Pignon gaffes each time, including revealing the existence of Brochant's mistress, Marlene Sasseur, to his wife Christine and inviting Lucien Cheval, a tax inspector, to Brochant's house where, in an attempt to disguise his tax evasion
, Brochant is forced to quickly hide most of his valuables.
In the meantime, Brochant is able to make amends with an old friend, Juste LeBlanc, from whom he stole Christine, and through the evening's events is forced to reassess his mistakes.
, the film was honored with six nominations of which it won three. The categories where it won were Best Actor for Jacques Villeret, Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Prévost and Best Screenplay for Francis Veber. It was nominated but did not win for Best Film, Veber as Best Director and Catherine Frot as Best Supporting Actress.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is a 1998 French comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written and directed by Francis Veber
Francis Veber
Francis Paul Veber is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, and theater playwright. Many of his French comedies feature recurring types of characters, named François Pignon and François Perrin...
. It is a cinema adaptation by Veber of his play Le Dîner de Cons
Le Dîner de cons
-External links:* , Francis Veber Play at...
.
Cast
- Jacques VilleretJacques VilleretJacques Villeret was a French actor.-Early life and Family:Born Jacky Boufroura in Loches, Indre-et-Loire, France, to an Algerian father and a French mother, he is most famous internationally for his role as François Pignon in Le Dîner de Cons, both on the stage and in the later film...
as François Pignon - Thierry LhermitteThierry LhermitteThierry Lhermitte is a French actor, known for his comedic roles. He was one of the founders of the comedy troupe Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high-school friends Christian Clavier, Gérard Jugnot, and Michel Blanc...
as Pierre Brochant - Francis HusterFrancis HusterFrancis Huster is a French stage, film and television actor, film director and scriptwriter.-Biography:Francis Huster was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He studied acting at the Conservatoire of the 17th arrondissement of Paris, at the Cours Florent and at the Conservatoire national , where he had...
as Juste Leblanc - Alexandra VandernootAlexandra VandernootAlexandra Vandernoot is a Belgian actress. While having starred in a number of French films, her best-known role internationally is as Tessa Noël, Duncan MacLeod's girlfriend, in the fantasy television series Highlander: The Series...
as Christine Brochant - Daniel PrévostDaniel PrévostDaniel Prévost is a French actor and humorist.Daniel Prevost is notably known for his part in the French television series Le Petit Rapporteur.-Early life and Family:...
as Lucien Cheval - Catherine FrotCatherine Frot-Early life:The daughter of an engineer and a mathematics teacher, Frot demonstrated comic traits and expressions at an early age. At the age of fourteen, she enrolled in the Versailles conservatory while still in school...
as Marlène Sasseur - Edgar Givry as Jean Cordier
- Christian Pereirra as Le docteur Sorbier
- Pétronille Moss as Mademoiselle Blond
Story
Pierre Brochant, a Parisian publisherPublishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, attends a weekly "idiots' dinner", where guests, who are prominent Parisian businessmen, must bring along an "idiot" who the other guests can ridicule. At the end of the dinner, the evening's champion idiot is selected.
With the help of an "idiot scout", Brochant manages to find a "gem", François Pignon, a Finance Ministry employee whose passion is building replicas of landmarks with matchsticks. When Brochant starts to suffer from a bad back, his wife, Christine, leaves him shortly before Pignon arrives at his apartment, as she realizes that he still wants to go to the "idiots' dinner". Brochant initially wants Pignon to leave, but instead becomes reliant on him, because of his back problem and his need to resolve his relationship problems.
He solicits Pignon's assistance in making a series of telephone calls to locate his wife, but Pignon gaffes each time, including revealing the existence of Brochant's mistress, Marlene Sasseur, to his wife Christine and inviting Lucien Cheval, a tax inspector, to Brochant's house where, in an attempt to disguise his tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
, Brochant is forced to quickly hide most of his valuables.
In the meantime, Brochant is able to make amends with an old friend, Juste LeBlanc, from whom he stole Christine, and through the evening's events is forced to reassess his mistakes.
Awards
At the 1999 César AwardsCésar Awards 1999
The 1999 César Awards were hosted by Isabelle Huppert. The winners and nominees were:The Dreamlife of Angels won the award for Best Film.-Best Actor – Leading Role:...
, the film was honored with six nominations of which it won three. The categories where it won were Best Actor for Jacques Villeret, Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Prévost and Best Screenplay for Francis Veber. It was nominated but did not win for Best Film, Veber as Best Director and Catherine Frot as Best Supporting Actress.
Other adaptations
- The Hindi cinemaBollywoodBollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
remake, Bheja Fry, was released on April 13, 2007.
- An American remake starring Steve CarellSteve CarellSteven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
and Paul RuddPaul RuddPaul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
called Dinner for SchmucksDinner for SchmucksDinner for Schmucks, a 2010 screwball comedy film, is the American adaptation of the French film Le Dîner de Cons , being described by the director as "inspired by" the original rather than a remake of it...
was released on July 30, 2010.
- A Chinese remake of the film comes in the form of a stage showStage ShowStage Show was a popular music variety series on American television originally hosted on alternate weeks by big band leaders and brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. Produced by Jackie Gleason, the CBS-TV show included the first national television appearances by Elvis Presley.The series began as a...
at the ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
Dramatic Arts Centre starring Canadian freelance performer DashanDashanDashan is the Chinese stage name adopted by Canadian Mark Henry Rowswell, CM who works as a freelance performer in People's Republic of China. Relatively unknown in the West, Dashan is the most famous Western personality in China's media industry. He occupies a unique position as a foreign...
as Pierre Brochant.
- A Malayalam movie adaptation titled April Fool was released in 2010.
- A Kannada movie with title Mr. Garagasa starring Komal and Anant NagAnant NagAnant Nagarkatte popularly known as Anant Nag is an actor and politician from Karnataka, India. He is considered to be one of the all time greatest actors in the Kannada film industry with a vast number of commercially successful movies. As a result, he is popularly known as an actor with...
released in summer of 2008.
External links
- Le dîner de cons in PDF, Francis Veber Play at FranceInfo.US