Film Reviews

You, Me and Dupree

• Rating:
• Director: Anthony and Joe Russo.
• Starring: Owen Wilson, Matt Dillon, Kate Hudson, Michael Douglas.
• Details: US / 108mins (12A).

How well this film is received by the movie-going public rests solely on Owen Wilson's shoulders. Wilson is a talented comic actor, and although never reaching the heights of Bottle Rocket, Rushmore or The Royal Tenenbaums (which he all co-penned), he has nestled snugly into his own little niche - that of the laid-back, loveable rogue - and come hell or high water, he's not trying anything different. And why should he when he does it so well? One theory is that if he doesn't flex his acting muscles soon, he's in danger of becoming stale - and You, Me And Dupree hints at the first signs of his allure waning. Not that he isn't funny here, but when you see him roll out 'the old bike accident' and 'the old falling off the roof trick', it's hard to keep making excuses. Wilson plays Randy Dupree, a free-loading houseguest that moves in with newly-married couple Carl (Dillon) and Molly (Hudson) until he gets himself on his feet. However, a few days turn into a few weeks, and his frat antics threaten to disrupt the happy couple's harmony as Carl finds himself torn between furthering his career and enjoying time with his old buddy. The TV sitcom idea holds fast longer than you first think; but at about the three-quarter mark, the movie begins to tie up the loose ends and the jokes suffer as a result, fizzling out when they should really give us something to remember before leaving the theatre. One obviously big comic scene on paper which failed to garner a smirk was when Wilson takes part in a school 'career day'. Telling kids it's okay to be a slacker, have no ambition and fall through society's cracks is daring, Owen, but not funny. In fairness to him, Wilson does have the talent to twist one of the oldest jokes and add a little freshness to it: when caught masturbating by Hudson, he mutters, half-teary with embarrassment, "Only an animal would debase himself thus". Not bad, but he's been funnier.

Review by Gavin Burke