Dinner with Friends

source: Dinner with Friends

Dinner With Friends is the perfect movie for those who felt that Notting Hill was a little too action-packed. The story involves two post-yuppie couples, one of whom split up, and how it affects all of their lives. The film mainly consists of the four of them discussing relationships with each other - and I'm talking about ninety percent conversation here, so be warned - while occasionally interrupted with people looking emotional. This would be a great film for those interested in the psychology behind modern relationships. For the rest of us, it's a potential cure for insomnia.

Two couples, best friends, married and middle aged with kids, one living the American dream while the other is breaking up and changing partners. Quaid & MacDowell play straight-men to Kinnear and Collette through nonstop dialogue which explores relationship issues, examines marriage, friendship, etc. in this obvious yin-yang of marriage lite drama. Scripted, staged, and sanitized, with everyone a little too glib, "Dinner..." is typical Jewison - well crafted, smooth, and ultimately sentimental and mainstream. An enjoyable watch for middle aged romantics.

The MacDowell/Quaid marriage seems like it is already on the rocks from the beginning. Quaid seems to make an attempt but MacDowell never does give her husband any softness except during the final scene when she asks him to talk to her. Collet and Kinnear are doomed from the beginning. The film doesn't seem like the give and take of marriage but a good example of two people, especially MacDowell, who are judgemental. I hoped the plot would pick up and lead somewhere as suggested, but it failed. MacDowell has always been "cold" in her films. The other three would have a chance to give better performances with a better screenplay. Having Jewison attached made me want to see it more. I was disappointed.

This movie never went anywhere. There was little point to this movie. The dialog was painfully boring. Andie McDowell was the only good thing in the movie. Her character seemed more natural and less forced. Dennis Quaid's character had annoying mannerisms and an irritating way of talking. Greg Kinner's character was all over the place. There was little or no cohesiveness to the character. Toni Colette who I LOVE was basically a non-entity in the movie. Her best dialog and acting came within the first 15 minutes of the movie. It sucked me in and made me want to see what happened...but NOTHING really ever happened. The movie also jumped back and forth between current time and 1988. This was supposed to show the beginning and end of the relationship. But there was very little explanation, and didn't even help move the movie forward. I wouldn't suggest wasting your time on this movie.

I happen to be someone who does like to watch the credits roll in when a movie ends. I know it's one of those silliest things a person can do after watching a movie but then when I saw the final credit, it's a made-for-TV movie from HBO. I was pretty impressed. Gabe and Karen (Dennis Quaid and Andie MacDowell respectively) are food critics. They had been happily married for 12 years and have two sons as well. When one day their friend Beth (Toni Collette) was being invited over for dinner with her two sons in tow, Beth broke the news that she and her husband Tom are being separated because he was having an affair outside of the family. Given Tom is Gabe's friend and Beth is Karen's friend, married couple Gabe and Karen started to defend over what each of their best friend had did. The way Tom questioned his wife over whatever happened at Gabe and Karen's house when she was there with the kids was a little, kind of scary. But maybe given he is a lawyer, it's just like that. The movie even had scenes of flashback, showing the happier times between the four friends themselves. It was definitely really sweet to see those scenes. Sometimes, the lines are not always being drawn clearly when it come to the marriage of someone you know or maybe your own's when something starts to happen. The grey area is there. Now maybe I am not of marriageable age yet, but then standing up to whatever your friend had did is one thing I am clearly aware about. My final say? Like what I had mentioned on the title for this review.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play, Dinner with Friends is an insightful drama about four longtime friends and the way they deal with the breakup of 2 of them. A realistic, well acted portrayal of relationships (both romantic and platonic) as well as their unraveling and strengthening. with excellent performances by Quaid, McDowell, Kinnear, and Collette. Foodies will also enjoy this film's sincere appreciation of the joys of food, cooking, and travel. If you enjoyed Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives" and Tom Noonan's "The Wife" you will love this sadly under-appreciated film.

To begin with the positive, I'm quite willing to concede that the performances in this movie (by Dennis Quaid, Andie McDowell, Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette) were pretty convincing. Unfortunately, good performances just didn't make up for what I thought was an unpleasant and uninteresting movie about marital breakups and mid-life crises, and how they affect the relationship between friends caught in the middle. Kudos for the fact that the sympathetic characters in the movie (played by Quaid and McDowell) were actually suggesting that marriage problems need to be fought through and marriage held on to rather than thrown away, but still, frankly, I thought this thing would never end, and the ending, when it finally did arrive, was entirely forgettable. A waste of time in my opinion. 3/10.

Dinner With Friends is perhaps one of the best written plays about marriage & the reaction of one couple when there best friends split up. Dennis Quaid & Andie Mc Dowell are a happily (even tho they squabble a lot) married couple. Dave Kineer & Toni Collete are there best friends who are going to get a divorce. We find out all about why this is occuring & the reactions of each couple as they go there separate ways, The acting is near flawless. Norman Jewison directed, & he always gets the best out of him performers. Since this is an adult comedy drama, it is not recommended for youngsters, it has no action & is too mature for them. The only others in the cast are the couples children & they are nicely portrayed. a **** rating from me. This is on HBO only, at the present time, & is another winner from them as always Jay Harris

SKIP THIS MOVIE - I couldn't make it past 30 minutes!!! Hadn't heard of this before. Interesting cast and strong review quotes especially Roger Ebert, whom I usually agree with. I wanted to like this movie but the dialogue was so fake and forced that I felt pity for the actors working with this. For whatever reason, both men are extremely effeminate. This isn't a bad thing but just a curious thing as to what was the logic. ********** SPOILER ********** When Kinnear who's left his wife returns to visit, the scene which so easily could have worked doesn't. THey go from seeking validation to arguing to physical fighting and threatened choking to having sex in the most ridiculously unbelievable twist of events that its comical.