In 1998, Francis Veber, Jacques Villeret and Thierry Lhermitte triumphed at the cinema with “Le Dîner de cons”. A film for which the director is partly inspired by his experience, convinced of having been trapped by acquaintances during a meal…
The dinner of fools : a meal that drags on
After directing Pierre Richard and Gérard Depardieu in The Goat, The Friends and The fugitivesFrancis Veber imposes another iconic film duo in 1998 with The dinner of fools. The characters of François Pignon and Pierre Brochant form this unforgettable new tandem.
Played by Jacques Villeret, the first is an employee of the Ministry of Finance, passionate about the development of imposing matchstick models. Incarnated by Thierry Lhermitte, the second is an editor who organizes “a dinner of idiots” every Wednesday. The participants have the mission to bring with them a guest considered a bit eccentric, not to say totally stupid. At the end of the evening, they elect a champion.
For his next meal, Brochant is advised by a friend to invite Pignon, who has every chance of being the ultimate con. Immobilized because of a turn of the kidneys, left by his wife Christine (Alexandra Vandernoot) and harassed by a nymphomaniac named Marlène (Catherine Frot), the editor is not going to live the crazy night he hoped for alongside his official idiot.
Francis Huster and Daniel Prévost complete the cast of this comedy. Upon its release, the feature film brings together more than 9 million spectators in French theaters. A hilarious but complicated film to shoot according to Thierry Lhermitte because of the director’s requirements. The latter is partly inspired by his experience for his story filled with cult lines.
Francis Veber invited to one of these meals?
In the magazine 8:30 p.m. on SaturdayFrancis Veber looks back on the genesis of his play which he transposed to the screen, explaining in particular that stupid dinners really existed :
It’s a nasty idea indeed, but I didn’t invent the game.
The director confides that he is convinced that acquaintances set a trap for him at the end of the 80s. an invitation to the private club and Parisian restaurant Castel :
One evening, I was invited and made to talk about the construction of a screenplay. And there, I am inexhaustible… I was pretentious and pedantic. I thought they all had a little smile.
Once the evening is over, Francis Veber wonders if he hasn’t been taken for a fool:
Then, on leaving, I asked myself: “Wasn’t I the idiot at that table?”
