You, Me And Dupree (2006) Movie Review

You, Me And Dupree (2006) Movie Credits:

richcline's score:
2 out of 5

Average Score

based on 0 ratings

No-one wants to see this movie.

Report bad or inappropriate content

You, Me And Dupree (2006) U.S. Cinema Release Date:

14^th Jul 2006

You, Me And Dupree (2006) U.K. Cinema Release Date:

25^th Aug 2006

Visit our Movie Information Page for You, Me And Dupree (2006)!

Add a review for this movie:

This Week's US Cinema Releases:

This Week's UK Cinema Releases:

You, Me And Dupree (2006) Synopsis:

Carl and Molly Peterson (Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson) are just starting their new life together--complete with a cute house, boring neighbors, stable jobs and the routines of newlywed existence. There's just one unfortunate hitch in their perfectly constructed new world...

And his name's Dupree.

Randy Dupree (Owen Wilson), Carl's oldest friend and perpetual bachelor, has found himself with nowhere to go after being fired. Carl yanks his jobless/homeless pal out of the bar he's living in and invites him to temporarily crash on the couch--that's just what friends do.

At first, Carl is quite pleased to have his good buddy as a permanent couch guest, while Molly bears the brunt of Dupree's immature antics. But, as Carl becomes buried in his grown-up job, he finds it harder and harder to juggle Dupree and his responsibilities as a husband. To make matters worse, Dupree uses his ample spare time to become a great companion for Molly. Even her dad (Michael Douglas) and the neighbors are falling for his carefree wisdom and charm--frustrating Carl to no end.

Soon, everyone (but Carl) begins to root for Dupree to stick around. But as Dupree starts to become a fixture in the Peterson's home, three becomes not just a crowd...but a full- blown, hilarious catastrophe.

You, Me And Dupree (2006) Review:

Fans of Owen Wilson's specific brand of humour may thoroughly enjoy this movie, which feels like the next episode of a character franchise. Alas, the filmmakers can't get the balance right between comedy and cruelty.

Carl and Molly (Dillon and Hudson) have undue pressure on their marriage right from the start. Molly's smarmy billionaire dad (Douglas) owns the company Carl works for, and is the consummate smiling back-stabber, promoting and encouraging while undermining and emasculating at the same time. But even worse is Carl's best friend Dupree (Wilson), who's forced to move in with the happy couple and quickly derails their newlywed idyll. As Dupree begins a voyage of self-discovery, Carl loses the plot completely.

Wilson has created such an endearing persona that it's like we've followed him through a series of adventures in such films as Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Starsky & Hutch and Wedding Crashers, not to mention his Wild West incarnations in Shanghai Noon and Nights. The fast-talking, mischievous but genuinely good guy who's not as dumb as he looks wins us over every time. And Wilson does it perfectly.

But in this film it begins to feel a little sour, because the script has a vicious undercurrent--a lazy willingness to take the cheapest shot at everything and everyone. Dupree's carelessness becomes less and less funny, and Carl's subsequent breakdown is painful to watch. The actors are good, but the filmmakers tip the balance and leave a very bad taste in our mouths.

It also doesn't help that Hudson's character, despite moments of sharpness and energy, has one of the most insulting cutaway fantasies in memory. In a sillier film this could be merely politically incorrect wackiness, but here it's seriously tasteless. Especially when combined with Douglas' grotesque turn as a bad father and constant jokes about relational deceptions (like porn collections and boys nights out).

All this is a shame since the film's otherwise bright and lively. There are excellent themes here worth examining, and Dupree's specific journey is actually endearing and funny. But wrapped in this misjudged story it just doesn't work.