I'm a big fan of Owen Wilson when he's in the right genre. He has proved to be a considerably good talent in drama as well, but comedy is his real niche. The whole "Frat Pack" sub-genre that is popular right now is where he most belongs, and as such "You, Me and Dupree" offers what one would expect from a comedy starring Owen Wilson as a slacker who leeches off of people.
What I didn't expect from this comedy was its dark side. Matt Dillon's character turns pretty nasty and his relationship with wife Kate Hudson gets rough. Likewise his confrontational scenes with Michael Douglas seem to betray the lighter attitude of the scenes involving Dupree (Wilson). The movie has a few twists and turns that I didn't expect - when I saw the ads I figured it would be an OK-but-forgettable movie about a guy crashing in a newly-married couple's house, end of story: but there's actually more to the story here. It doesn't necessarily make it stand out (it's not a very good film) - but the movie moves away from Dupree being a pest and actually begins to focus on Dillon's growing anger towards his friend as he believes him to be developing a crush on his wife. The whole subplot with Douglas' character (playing the father of Hudson) becomes quite prominent in the film as well. This is where it really takes a turn for the worse.
Whereas for the first hour or so is fun and predictable in the vein of Wilson's other films, once it begins trying to develop a "showdown" of sorts between all its characters it gets to be too much. The ending sequence involving Wilson being chased by a Samoan security guard is way over-the-top and betrays the realistic roots of the movie.
I also didn't care much for Dillon's character. I could relate to his frustration but he almost seemed TOO realistic for this film. You know when critics complain in these movies about how clichéd the "nice guy" characters always are? Well Dillson isn't a nice guy in this movie - he's got a hot temper and loses his cool a bunch of times in the movie. Towards the end he's like a mad, violent alcoholic and I started to feel like Dupree should end up with his wife instead.
Overall the first hour of this movie is fun and entertaining and has its fair share of humorous segments - I laughed a lot when Dupree burns down a house and at some of the early jokes involving his interaction with old buddies - but the movie obviously realizes this isn't enough of a plot for a 90-minute feature and tries to develop other plot lines 3/4 of the way through, and that's when it gets tiresome. The ending ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth and felt tacky. It seemed like a last-minute ending that was filmed after poor test screenings. A relationship crisis involving Dupree is never even resolved in the movie - as if the crew totally forgot about it.
I guess I would have left the theater feeling more fulfilled if perhaps the film had continued as a lightweight "frat pack"-style comedy rather than trying to rise above other genre entries. I acknowledge the film's attempts at becoming "more" than just another comedy of this type - but they chose the wrong path and just made it worse. In this case it's an example of a shallow movie trying too hard to be something else.
I liked it, and I was entertained, but it's better left as a rental and only if you're a fan of the actors. (By the way, it's worth mentioning that apart from Wilson's hilarious performance, Kate Hudson really impressed me and had more of a realistic role than women do in most of these sorts of films. You can't slam "You, Me and Dupree" for not at least trying.)
What I didn't expect from this comedy was its dark side. Matt Dillon's character turns pretty nasty and his relationship with wife Kate Hudson gets rough. Likewise his confrontational scenes with Michael Douglas seem to betray the lighter attitude of the scenes involving Dupree (Wilson). The movie has a few twists and turns that I didn't expect - when I saw the ads I figured it would be an OK-but-forgettable movie about a guy crashing in a newly-married couple's house, end of story: but there's actually more to the story here. It doesn't necessarily make it stand out (it's not a very good film) - but the movie moves away from Dupree being a pest and actually begins to focus on Dillon's growing anger towards his friend as he believes him to be developing a crush on his wife. The whole subplot with Douglas' character (playing the father of Hudson) becomes quite prominent in the film as well. This is where it really takes a turn for the worse.
Whereas for the first hour or so is fun and predictable in the vein of Wilson's other films, once it begins trying to develop a "showdown" of sorts between all its characters it gets to be too much. The ending sequence involving Wilson being chased by a Samoan security guard is way over-the-top and betrays the realistic roots of the movie.
I also didn't care much for Dillon's character. I could relate to his frustration but he almost seemed TOO realistic for this film. You know when critics complain in these movies about how clichéd the "nice guy" characters always are? Well Dillson isn't a nice guy in this movie - he's got a hot temper and loses his cool a bunch of times in the movie. Towards the end he's like a mad, violent alcoholic and I started to feel like Dupree should end up with his wife instead.
Overall the first hour of this movie is fun and entertaining and has its fair share of humorous segments - I laughed a lot when Dupree burns down a house and at some of the early jokes involving his interaction with old buddies - but the movie obviously realizes this isn't enough of a plot for a 90-minute feature and tries to develop other plot lines 3/4 of the way through, and that's when it gets tiresome. The ending ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth and felt tacky. It seemed like a last-minute ending that was filmed after poor test screenings. A relationship crisis involving Dupree is never even resolved in the movie - as if the crew totally forgot about it.
I guess I would have left the theater feeling more fulfilled if perhaps the film had continued as a lightweight "frat pack"-style comedy rather than trying to rise above other genre entries. I acknowledge the film's attempts at becoming "more" than just another comedy of this type - but they chose the wrong path and just made it worse. In this case it's an example of a shallow movie trying too hard to be something else.
I liked it, and I was entertained, but it's better left as a rental and only if you're a fan of the actors. (By the way, it's worth mentioning that apart from Wilson's hilarious performance, Kate Hudson really impressed me and had more of a realistic role than women do in most of these sorts of films. You can't slam "You, Me and Dupree" for not at least trying.)