Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, Michael Douglas, Seth Rogen, Amanda Detmer, Ralph Ting, Todd Stashwick,
Bill Hader, Lance Armstrong
Written by Michael LeSieur
Certification UK 12A | US PG-13
Runtime 108 minutes
Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo
If you’ve never thanked heaven for Owen Wilson — and chances are you haven’t, unless you’re Kate Hudson (allegedly) — then two hours of You, Me & Dupree will probably change that. Because the always watchable Wilson — all crooked nose, surfer hair and inordinate charm — is the only reason that this film works at all.
He plays the final part of the title, one Randolph Dupree, the well-meaning but pretty useless slacker best friend of Carl (Dillon). Inseparable since school, the duo are about to be split by Carl’s marriage to schoolteacher Molly (Hudson). Or would be if Dupree hadn’t just moved in. Jobless, homeless and still waiting for his destiny, that “call from the mothership” as he calls it, Dupree needed a friend so Carl — and the more reluctant Molly — have offered him temporary post-honeymoon couch space. After all, it will only be for a day or two. A week tops. Certainly no more than a fortnight. Definitely not more than a month …
Dupree’s role as the thorn in the newly-weds’ side slowly transforms into something else. Carl works for Molly’s very protective father (Douglas) and, as the new son-in-law, is under pressure to perform. As Carl finds himself more and more stressed, working longer and longer hours and unable to confide in his wife about what a git her dad is, Molly suddenly finds that Dupree, rather than being an inconvenience, is actually a sympathetic ear, much to Carl’s annoyance. It’s this skip away from the obvious formula that gives Dupree what little edge it has. It’s still eminently predictable — the words “happy” and “ending” are clearly never in doubt — but thanks to the cast, it remains a mostly enjoyable, if obvious, experience. Dillon and Douglas spark neatly off each other, Hudson is charming in her strangely minor role, but this is Wilson’s film all the way. And the odd gems that the script gives him will make you laugh out loud. Indeed, his excellent ‘career’ speech to Molly’s pupils may even bring a tear to your eye. It’s just that sadly, there are too few of these moments to lift Dupree out of average status.