SPOILERS THROUGH:
This was one I went to thinking I'd hate as I'd heard a lot of really bad reviews. Still I wanted to see for myself. I actually liked this a lot. It's definitely not as funny as the rowdy "Wedding Crashers" but by and large, Dupree was a pleasant surprise. This is the second time in the last few weeks I've disagreed with a lot of critics reviews.(The other movie being "Superman Returns".) At any rate....this is not the best comedy ever made or anything but it is a fun flick and a good summer's pick. I'd definitely say above average.
In terms of the positives-well first of all was the humor which was nowhere near as dreadful as some critics' seemed to think it was. I would say, though it's not constantly hilarious, it does deliver in terms of laugh out loud chuckles. There were parts that were not so funny but then, every so often, something hilarious would happen. Best to go into this one, not expecting humor in every single scene. That doesn't mean though that there wont be some truly hilarious happenings!
And then the performers. Well contrary to what I thought the character of Dupree would be all about, the movie surprised a bit. I expected this totally obnoxious unlikeable character but Dupree, though there were moments of unlikeability, retained such a lovable puppy dog quality, that it was impossible to hate him. Owen Wilson did a good job and he was much better in this then Wedding Crashers. Even though I liked Wedding Crashers better overall, I thought Wilson was kind of outshone, at times, in that by Vaughn. Here he kind of owns the movie.
Well-maybe not quite. I must mention Matt Dillon who was great as Carl and, though his character was not the funny guy, it's interesting that at times, it was Dillon who occasionally (surprisingly) had me hysterical. Now here's a guy who never struck me as a comedic actor but the comedic aspects he brought to the table were of a more subtle nature then Wilson's and were very effective. And Kate Hudson did great too. Again-this was not a non stop laugh fest but the jokes, when they came, were hilarious and will still make one laugh the next day.
Now-negatives. Well here's the main issue I had. It was very hard to root for anyone in this movie because everyone' character kept changing. I mean Dupree starts out obnoxious and suddenly morphs into a real nice guy. Then we have Carl who one alternatively feels sorry for and annoyed by. But then HE morphs into kind of a jerk and the sympathy starts to slow down. And Molly, though initially sympathetic, comes across at times very passive, particularly the way she won't listen to Carl when he tries to tell her about how much her father hates him. And then again there's Douglas, who can't be a sympathetic character( and he is so mean it's difficult to find anything funny about him as well.) And even Carl's porn stealing friend who winds up refusing to give Carl a place to stay, becomes dislikeable.
So while the movie was pretty good, it was a bit frustrating following the characters' metamorphosis in personality. There are a lot of plot holes as well and the chase scene with Dupree toward the end I thought was kind of corny. Ultimately though, "You, Me and Dupree" is a good enough movie for a fun summer's comedy and is worth a 7 rating. Don't think to much about the plot holes and just enjoy the movie for what it is. My vote's 7 of 10.
This was one I went to thinking I'd hate as I'd heard a lot of really bad reviews. Still I wanted to see for myself. I actually liked this a lot. It's definitely not as funny as the rowdy "Wedding Crashers" but by and large, Dupree was a pleasant surprise. This is the second time in the last few weeks I've disagreed with a lot of critics reviews.(The other movie being "Superman Returns".) At any rate....this is not the best comedy ever made or anything but it is a fun flick and a good summer's pick. I'd definitely say above average.
In terms of the positives-well first of all was the humor which was nowhere near as dreadful as some critics' seemed to think it was. I would say, though it's not constantly hilarious, it does deliver in terms of laugh out loud chuckles. There were parts that were not so funny but then, every so often, something hilarious would happen. Best to go into this one, not expecting humor in every single scene. That doesn't mean though that there wont be some truly hilarious happenings!
And then the performers. Well contrary to what I thought the character of Dupree would be all about, the movie surprised a bit. I expected this totally obnoxious unlikeable character but Dupree, though there were moments of unlikeability, retained such a lovable puppy dog quality, that it was impossible to hate him. Owen Wilson did a good job and he was much better in this then Wedding Crashers. Even though I liked Wedding Crashers better overall, I thought Wilson was kind of outshone, at times, in that by Vaughn. Here he kind of owns the movie.
Well-maybe not quite. I must mention Matt Dillon who was great as Carl and, though his character was not the funny guy, it's interesting that at times, it was Dillon who occasionally (surprisingly) had me hysterical. Now here's a guy who never struck me as a comedic actor but the comedic aspects he brought to the table were of a more subtle nature then Wilson's and were very effective. And Kate Hudson did great too. Again-this was not a non stop laugh fest but the jokes, when they came, were hilarious and will still make one laugh the next day.
Now-negatives. Well here's the main issue I had. It was very hard to root for anyone in this movie because everyone' character kept changing. I mean Dupree starts out obnoxious and suddenly morphs into a real nice guy. Then we have Carl who one alternatively feels sorry for and annoyed by. But then HE morphs into kind of a jerk and the sympathy starts to slow down. And Molly, though initially sympathetic, comes across at times very passive, particularly the way she won't listen to Carl when he tries to tell her about how much her father hates him. And then again there's Douglas, who can't be a sympathetic character( and he is so mean it's difficult to find anything funny about him as well.) And even Carl's porn stealing friend who winds up refusing to give Carl a place to stay, becomes dislikeable.
So while the movie was pretty good, it was a bit frustrating following the characters' metamorphosis in personality. There are a lot of plot holes as well and the chase scene with Dupree toward the end I thought was kind of corny. Ultimately though, "You, Me and Dupree" is a good enough movie for a fun summer's comedy and is worth a 7 rating. Don't think to much about the plot holes and just enjoy the movie for what it is. My vote's 7 of 10.