THE SYNOPSIS Carl Peterson (Dillon) is marrying his fiancée Molly (Hudson) in beautiful Hawaii—surrounded by family and friends, including his best man Randy Dupree (Wilson). It’s all fun and games and wedding cake until they return home. Dupree is fired from work, loses his apartment and has his company car repossessed by the firm who just canned him! Feeling bad, Carl invites Dupree to stay with him and Molly—just for a night or two… …which turns into several months, as Dupree ingratiates himself in the newlyweds’ lives—causing unintentional havoc on their psyches and home! The relationship begins to untangle thanks to Dupree’s innocent but clumsy mistakes while Carl’s boss, Thompson (Douglas) gives him hell at work. Oh—and by the way: Thompson is also his father-in-law! Will Dupree land back on his feet without destroying everyone’s lives in the process? Will Carl and Molly new marriage survive Dupree’s childish shenanigans? And finally, will Carl ever stand up to his domineering boss/father-in-law? It’s a comedy…so you know it all ends well, silly! THE CRITIQUE Coming off of the gigantic success of Wedding Crashers, Owen Wilson has been elevated into the Jim Carrey/Mike Myers/Will Ferrell club of funny actors who reap big paychecks. It’s a pretty prestigious club to join. However, I believe YOU, ME AND DUPREE will prove that carrying a movie by all by yourself is not always a strict formula for box office gold (yo, Owen—remember Will Ferrell’s Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy?) I wanted to like Owen Wilson’s latest outing, as the trailers were quite amusing. While he’s his usual, charming, slacker-self, Wilson is not the problem. Neither is the lovely and talented Kate Hudson (who looks more like her mother each passing year). The problem in the acting department is the miscasting of Matt Dillon in the straight-man role. Not to say that he’s a bad actor—which, as evidenced in his bitter, layered role in 2005’s Oscar©-winning Crash, he’s most definitely not. It’s just that someone like Ben Stiller would’ve worked better in the role. Just a thought… But I should mention that Michael Douglas’ performance was kind of fun. His fatcat, power-trip persona reminded me of his Gordon Gekko role in 1987’s Wall Street (and remember, folks—he won the Best Actor Oscar© for it). Here, he’s just having some fun as the elder statesman of the cast. YOU, ME AND DUPREE is the directed by the Russo Brothers (Anthony & John)—recently of TV’s Arrested Development and the George Clooney heist comedy, Welcome To Collinwood (2002). Decent job for a silly script. And here’s where the movie (written by newcomer Mike LeSieur) really fails. The moral of this script analysis: a pedestrian script that translates into pedestrian plotting is a formula for disaster. Other tech credits are fine—most notably the sunny, high-key lensing by of veteran cinematographer Charles Minsky (The Producers (2005)/Welcome To Collinwood/Pretty Woman). THE BOTTOM LINE An amusing trailer doth not make for an entertaining movie. I like the cast and the premise—but something’s missing from this disappointing comedic stew. It just goes to show that actors like Owen Wilson might be better off in ensemble comedies or when he’s paired up with Ben Stiller or Vince Vaughn. CAST: Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, Michael Douglas, Seth Rogen, Amanda Detmer, Ralph Ting CREDITS: Directors: Anthony & Joe Russo; Screenwriter: Michael Le Sieur; Producers: Owen Wilson, Scott Stuber & Mary Parent; Director of Photography: Charles Minsky; Production Designer: Barry Robison; Editors: Peter B. Ellis & Debra Neil-Fisher; Costume Designer: Karen Patch; Music: Rolfe Kent AC/AL 2006 108m ENGLISH BN/MV