My Dinner with Hervé

source: My Dinner with Hervé

His stepfather was French, but Herve's ancestry was not. Anyone who remembers Fantasy Island remembers him as the Asian little person sidekick to Roarke. Dinklage is a great actor, but as a casting choice it's bizarre. It's like having Robert De Niro play Bruce Lee in a film bio. In spite of his performance and a good script, pretending Herve was white makes this film too strange to completely work.

Our culture's infatuation with celebrity is bitter sweetly conveyed in the story of Hervé Villechaize, a star crossed lover of life who gained fame in Hollywood through his acting career. Daniel, the journalist played by Jamie Dornan is a fitting foil for Hervé, one teeter-tottering to sobriety, the other in flagrante ~ fully consumed by efforts to cover emotional pain. It's an opportunity to face the flaws in every human ~ in love we come face to face with the gap between a hero's summit that we hope to achieve and the mistakes we inevitably make in life as it unfolds. Peter Dinklage's performance is wonderful and as the writer, Dornan has a chance to display a nuanced character quite admirably.

Well, that was a surprise. I almost want to accept this as HBO's apology for their Fahrenheit 451 adaptation earlier this year. Almost. That film still really sucks. Writer/director Sacha Gervais recounts the story of the night he spent with iconic French actor Hervé Villechaize while working on an article that never got published. As the story goes Gervasi promised Villechaize that he would tell his absolutely fascinating life story to the world and now 25 years on HBO has produced this film detailing why that promise was made. If Gervasi's screenplay is accurate (which it appears to be for the most part) then Villechaize's life certainly was far more interesting and tragic than I had first presumed. The screenplay never really holds back on the details of the story which helps present a more rounded view of the actor's life. This can also lead to the film at points feeling more like someone reading a Wikipedia article. Peter Dinklage is absolutely fantastic, completely disappearing into his role blurring the line between himself and the real Villechaize. His delivery of the iconic line "the plane, the plane" is almost pitch perfect. In a way Dinklage reminded me of David Bradley's performance as William Hartnell in several Doctor Who projects. Dinklage's non Game of Thrones performances keep continue to showcase why he was so instantly loved as soon as the first season aired. Given that the GOT cast does not have a reputation for quality outside of the show Dinklage has certainly managed to separate himself from the show in way many of his cast mates have not. The closing shot is more than a little cheesy and the over emphasis on ensuring that every fact is given can make the film drag, however this does help make the overall sentiment feel more genuine. I have nothing but respect for Gervasi for finally telling this story as well as for HBO for allowing him to do so. If you have access via HBO Go or Sky Q or anywhere else it is showing definitely check it out.

Peter Dinklage is so talented. And James is awsome. The narrative is one that is sad and constant.

Very good performances from Peter Dinklage, really great autobiography movie 👍

I got sucked right into this flick on HBO; the era (my teens), the music, the reconstruction of timeless scenes and TV personalities were spot on. But Mr. Dinklage is excellent, surpassing expectations and delivering a huge gift to the entertainment universe. The story was well-told by framing a range of 'out-of-control' personal worlds, while harvesting gut wrenching observations about being alive, being a person, being flawed, being human. Dinklage bravely fills-in that void between "you" and "him" with honesty, authenticity and structure. Great performance. It changed me...honestly! I feel like a better person... wow.

I didn't know anything about Herve and watched Fantasy Island once in a while.. It was an interesting show that dealt with all aspects of life.. Being able to accomplish what Herve did with the challenges he had in life was truly remarkable!! Peter Dinkage was remarkable as his portrayal of Herve life... The movie reveals what can happen to someone when money and popularity is quickly injected into someone life. Kept me on edge the whole time!!

It took me a while to let go of the 'that's not the type of dwarfism he had' problem, but when I was finally able to do so, I was able to appreciate the story much more. It touched (lightly, admittedly, but also in an 'everyman' (sic) kind of way) on the themes of self-belief, self-control, and self-congratulation, and how thin the line between them is. One false move can see you fall on your face, or require you to push someone else out of your way; and we never know when that false move may occur or what may prompt it to happen.

I grew up with Fantasy Island and thought Herve Villechaize was a gimmick who couldn't speak understandable English. This movie is more of the same only worse. Peter Dinklage mimicked HV's speech so well that he, too, isn't understandable. There's no physical resemblance, the main character is mostly unsympathetic and I couldn't watch it for more than the first 20 minutes.