jjm@hou5e.UUCP (J McParland) (08/08/83)
I saw My Dinner With Andre last night. I rented this film from my local video store mainly because of the rave reviews it received from Siskel + Ebert when they were the hosts of Sneak Previews. This film is a true gem of modern filmmaking. Two men who have not seen each other for several years sit down in a restaurant and discuss what has happenned in the intervening years. There are no flashback sequences, no locations used other than the restaurant itself. There is no attempt to show visually anything other than the restaurant itself. Yet the dialog in this movie is so colorful, so descriptive that you find yourself imagining all the strange vistas described - an acting class in Poland, the mountains of Tibet, etc. Fans of Douglas Hofstader will appreciate the self-referential aspects of the film - a film which discusses how modern plays cannot really reach out to audiences, two men talking about how people do not really relate to each other while talking, etc. A friend of mine suggests that the two men represent the Id and the Superego. I'm not sure that the terms are correct, but they do represent two different (and at times conflicting) viewpoints of life that I think we all must deal with. One values living life to celebrate "being", living for the sake of living. The other proposes that life without goals and direction is meaningless. A truly refreshing film. It's so nice to see a film that asks you to think. It's nice to see characters that are not "good" and "bad". I really recommend this film. Ask for it at your local videotape rental store! Jim McParland ABI - HO hou5e!jjm
perelgut@utcsrgv.UUCP (Stephen Perelgut) (08/09/83)
A dissenting opinion:
I also rented the film on the recommendation of the intrepid duo of
reviewers and on friends advice.
It definately consisted of two gentlemen who hadn't seen each other for
many years and their conversation over dinner. The verbal imagery was
quite poignant.
And I have not been quite so bored with a film before or since. After
a short while I wondered why I was watching the dialogue instead of
participating in one equally as stimulating but infinitely more real and
believable. Once I reached that point I tried skipping ahead on the VCR
to find some meaning to the film. I didn't find anything.
The conversation in the movie is great, but so is the conversation of
a middlingly intelligent friend you haven't seen in a couple of years.
Instead of spending $2.50 to rent this movie, call up an old friend you
haven't seen in years and go out. Spend the $2.50 saved on a drink or
a couple of cappuccino, or more coffee than your bladder can handle. And
talk. It should be about the same, but you regain an old friend that way.
--
--- Stephen Perelgut ---
{decvax!utzoo,linus}!utcsrgv!perelgut
{cornell,watmath,floyd,allegra,uw-beaver,ubc-vision,ihnp4}!utcsrgv!perelgutmichaelk@tekmdp.UUCP (Michael Kersenbrock) (08/09/83)
I rented this movie for the same reason as Jim McParland, and I agree totally. This film is a very refreshing and rates a solid "four stars". Mike Kersenbrock Tektronix Microcomputer Development Products Aloha, Oregon P.S.- The only thing I might mention is that if you rent a videotape as I did, that you need to watch it "intensely" as you would at a movie theatre. It isn't like some movies where you can do other things at the same time as the film is running (on the TV set).
lee@ut-ngp.UUCP (08/13/83)
Keywords: INANE, WORTHLESS, BORING, PRETENTIOUS, WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY I have never until now responded to a review posted on net.movies. However, the recent review of "My Dinner With Andre" by Jim McParland has moved me to contribute. I saw "My Dinner With Andre" several months back at the local "arts" movie theater. It is without a doubt the worst movie I have ever seen in my entire life (and I see a lot of movies). I went to see it due to the extremely favorable reviews (4 bunnys in Playboy). After a brief intro scene, the entire movie takes place in a restaurant (hence the title). It consists of an hour and a half dialog between two men, one of which has clearly lost his grip on reality. I waited almost 2 hours for something of interest to happen but it never did. It is not refreshing. It is not delightful. It is not easy to stay awake. The film is pure unadulterated crap and contains utterly no redeeming social value. I would pay money to keep from having to see this film again. I would do almost anything to keep from having to see this film again. P.S. This film was worse than a triple bill of "Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean", "Superman III", and "The Pirate Movie". P.P.S. If I save just one soul from having to see this trash, my life will have been worthwhile.
jsq@ut-sally.UUCP (08/14/83)
What other movie have you seen lately that seriously discussed metaphysics both abstractly and with examples, and with charm, pathos and wit? Neither character has lost his grasp on reality, rather, one shows a much stronger grasp than most people have. The lack of graphic illustration of Andre's anecdotes in no way detracts from them. Rather, the restaurant setting is used to comment on the characters of the principals. I've seen it twice and will probably catch it again next time it comes around.
rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (08/16/83)
I hear that they'll be making an American version of My Dinner with Andre. In this version, Clint Eastwood is a policeman who enters a restaurant to find two diners (who had just been having an intelligent conversation) brutally murdered, with blood all over the room. Later, Eastwood tracks down the murderers, who are extraterrestrial beings with flashy laser weapons that cause numerous catastrophes and special effects. Eastwood's arm is blown off by an alien with a large flashlight-like object, and he returns to confront his assailant after a dirtbike chase through a large department store. In the end, Eastwood asks the alien what the two restaurant patrons had been talking about when they were killed, with his revolver pointed at the alien's temple. The alien removes his mask to reveal that it is really a two-headed alien comedian (one head is Bill Murray, the other is Steve Martin). The Bill Murray head throws up all over Clint Eastwood, while the Steve Martin head says "Excuuuuuuuuse me!" I'm sure this version will appeal to those like ut-npg!lee who disliked the original. (To ut-npg!lee: check out Amanda on ABC-TV---you'll love it!)