You, Me and Dupree

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by Willie Waffle

You, Me and Dupree

If you are Owen Wilson, and you can’t get Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, or Jackie Chan to star in your movie, you get Matt Dillon. While he’s 4^th on the depth chart, at least, he’s better than Rob Schneider.

Dillon stars as Carl – a worker bee at a land development company who is marrying the boss’s beautiful daughter, Molly (Kate Hudson). He should be on top of the world, but his new father-in-law, Mr. Thompson (Michael Douglas), hates him and seems to be trying to undermine his marriage at every turn, and destroy his precious project at work. Adding to the trouble, Carl’s best friend, Dupree (Wilson), has lost his job, apartment and car, so he has been staying with the newlyweds, well past the point where he has overstayed his welcome.

Will Dupree drive Carl and Molly crazy? Can their marriage withstand Dupree and Mr. Thompson?

You, Me and Dupree is a funny movie with plenty of memorable scenes, but it’s not a movie you need to rush out and see at all costs. It’s not going to be this year’s smash hit like Wedding Crashers or The 40-Year Old Virgin. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo play it quite safe, never going for the outrageous, over the top comedy a movie like this needs to be something special. Instead, it’s solid. You laugh. You go home, and move on to something new.

Writer Michael Le Sieur never delivers any shocking or amazing dialogue, but does come up with some amusing situations that bring out the Peter Pan complex in Dupree, while also developing a great sub-plot about a girl Dupree is chasing after that helps humanize the character. Le Sieur’s smartest move in the entire script is to make Dupree likable instead of becoming a boorish oaf everyone would kick out of their house within the first couple of days. Also, he has some funny scenes showing how the guys are becoming domesticated, and the ultimate struggle Carl faces as he still wants to be the fun, single guy he is with his buddies, and how he needs to grow up to be the new husband he has become. Much like the movie itself, the actors are solid, but not spectacular.

Wilson embodies Dupree perfectly with his devilish charm working on every one in sight, while Dillon is good as the put upon, flustered guy. Of all of the roles, his is the one that needs to be more over the top, but he commendably keeps the story going and makes it work as best as he can in the inevitable big moment when Carl is supposed to freak out. Hudson doesn’t get enough comedy, but carries You, Me and Dupree’s more serious moments. However, the guy who steals his few scenes is Seth Rogan, who is hilarious as the henpecked husband always looking for a way to rebel against his domineering wife, even though his scenes feel like they are spliced into the movie to make it better after the fact.

If you have already seen Click, Superman Returns and Pirates, you might as well spend time with You, Me and Dupree.

2 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4)

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