Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
You, Me and Dupree starring Owen Wilson , December 8, 2006
We're getting a lot of comedies being cranked out nowadays, particularly ones with the theme of a couple's relationship in them. With YM & D, we are offered a balanced cast of stars that fit the characters roles well. That coupled with a script that mixes comedy with heartfelt seriousness about friendships and marriage makes this not great, but not terrible either. I found the story enlightening and wondering what Owen Wilson's next antics will be always leaves you guessing!
Matt Dillon stars as Carl Peterson, who has just gotten married to Molly (Kate Hudson) and together the two seem to be off and rolling in their careers and suburban lifestyle. Carl is a landscape architect (excuse me if I get his exact job title wrong) for Molly's father (played by Michael Douglas) who is your typical gung ho businessman/new father in law. You know the type...demanding, judgmental, and downright intimidating.
But Carl has other issues on his hands. His best friend, Randall Dupree, seems to be virtually homeless after Carl and Molly's wedding. Being a great pal, Carl lets Dupree stay for a couple weeks. In the meantime, however, Molly has her reservations and soon the occupancy of Dupree in the house leads from one disaster to the next. From plugged toilets to romantic candlelit evenings turned into infernos, Dupree is a walking time bomb. While Carl struggles with Molly in pleading for her acceptance for Dupree, he soon realizes that the tables have turned on him, and while Dupree can do nothing wrong, Carl can do nothing about anything, including his sudden marriage problems.
Dupree has a plan to make everything better, the question is, can he do it without burning the house down? Wilson is classic as Dupree, a happy go lucky guy with a bright persona that is nearly oblivious to the responsibilities that most people have. Matt Dillon is great as Carl, and I can't say enough about Kate Hudson, her role was one of the better I've seen her in. You, Me and Dupree is a movie that has its share of laughter but also has some pretty intense, deep and even sad scenes. Don't worry, those don't last long, but they last long enough to add some great balance to a movie that, considering its genre, could have been a disaster.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Been There, Seen It All Before--"Dupree" Is a Mildly Amusing, But Very Familiar, Escape, January 29, 2007
What can you say about a movie like "You, Me, And Dupree?" Your first response might be, "Man, haven't I seen this movie before?" That's how familiar this buddy comedy will seem, it covers no new territory. It's not a terrible film and it has some enjoyable elements, it just lacks a creativity and spontaneity that might have branded it as compelling entertainment. As is, it's a slight and reasonably pleasant way to waste a couple of hours. You might not remember anything about it in a week, but you might get limited enjoyment in the now.
The story revolves around two college buddies. Matt Dillon, the responsible friend, has recently married Kate Hudson, gone to work for her dad (Michael Douglas), and is trying to make a place in the "grown-up" world. Owen Wilson plays the resident "Man-child," a buffoon who shirks responsibility and lives in a carefree (and hopeless) state. Conveniently, Wilson loses his place to live and so must move in with the newlyweds. Juxtaposing Wilson's antics with Hudson's stability is the comedic center of the film, and the two battle for the attentions of Dillon. Nothing new, huh? Wilson is an engaging performer, and talented, but we have seen him (and dozens of others) play this exact character time and time again. When did it become OK to continually represent 30-somethings as drifting losers? (I don't know anyone like this. Right out of college, sure--but 15 years later, not so much). But he is likable, and Hudson and Dillon are likable too. It's all so likable, if not riotously funny.
I actually found most of "Dupree" to be a pleasant, if extremely familiar, diversion. Having no ambitions whatsoever, the picture plays out as a genial poke at friendship and responsibility. The performers carry the mundane story, and it unfolds as a comfortable and watchable TV sitcom plot might. However, inexplicably, this mildly amusing endeavor goes way, way over-the top for its finale. Shifting in tone, and for reasons unnecessary to delineate, the last act of "Dupree" involves Douglas as a corporate villain (a lightweight Gordon Gecko, if you will) and our pair of heroes breaking into his offices. Turning things into an action comedy seems at odds with the rest of the picture, and the shift in tone does not serve the film well. Nothing about this conclusion is necessary or amusing.
Ultimately, "Dupree" is what "Dupree" is--a paint by numbers comedy. Instantly recognizable, there are aspects of so many other films working here--and instantly forgettable. I don't regret watching "Dupree" and I don't hate it. It's just so unassuming, it hard to generate much passion either way. KGHarris, 01/07.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
How Many Times Can This Story Be Filmed?, November 23, 2006
YOU, ME AND DUPREE is a formula film, a template designed for teenage guys who feel the need for potty mouth, noisy, crude guy things movies. There have been a lot of these films of late (all spinoffs of The Wedding Crasher image) and one wonders if there is a saturation point.
Relating the story is rather pointless as it is a one-line joke (?). Dupree (Owen Wilson playing Owen Wilson) is the best man at his buddy Matt Dillon's wedding to Kate Hudson (the You and Me) and subsequently moves in with them, causing all manner of mayhem and bad taste and faux pas and grim situations (think toilet problems etc). And that is it. Michael Douglas was brought in to play a flat role as Kate Hudson's father who objects to her marriage blah blah blah. Ask directors Anthony and Joe Russo for the rest.
We know that Hudson, Dillon and Douglas have much better roles to offer (Wilson seems to have found his niche), and the only reason films like this keep getting made is because they make money (for some reason) at the box office. The film is silly, tacky, tired and should only be rented if the shelves in the video store are otherwise empty... Grady Harp, November 06
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