You, Me and Dupree

How Many Times Can This Story Be Filmed?
YOU, ME AND DUPREE is a formula film, a template designed for teenage guys who feel the need for potty mouth, noisy, crude guy things movies. There have been a lot of these films of late (all spinoffs of The Wedding Crasher image) and one wonders if there is a saturation point.

Relating the story is rather pointless as it is a one-line joke (?). Dupree (Owen Wilson playing Owen Wilson) is the best man at his buddy Matt Dillon's wedding to Kate Hudson (the You and Me) and subsequently moves in with them, causing all manner of mayhem and bad taste and faux pas and grim situations (think toilet problems etc). And that is it. Michael Douglas was brought in to play a flat role as Kate Hudson's father who objects to her marriage blah blah blah. Ask directors Anthony and Joe Russo for the rest.

We know that Hudson, Dillon and Douglas have much better roles to offer (Wilson seems to have found his niche), and the only reason films like this keep getting made is...

wife liked it
familiar story (cf Down and Out in Beverly Hills), some shouting and falling over, masturbation jokes - you know the drill. Tiresome after a while, but the wife sorta liked it after a hard day with the kids....
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Owen Wilson - you were good in Behind Enemy Lines, so less of this boring shaggy guy thing would be nice....

Been There, Seen It All Before--"Dupree" Is a Mildly Amusing, But Very Familiar, Escape
What can you say about a movie like "You, Me, And Dupree?" Your first response might be, "Man, haven't I seen this movie before?" That's how familiar this buddy comedy will seem, it covers no new territory. It's not a terrible film and it has some enjoyable elements, it just lacks a creativity and spontaneity that might have branded it as compelling entertainment. As is, it's a slight and reasonably pleasant way to waste a couple of hours. You might not remember anything about it in a week, but you might get limited enjoyment in the now.

The story revolves around two college buddies. Matt Dillon, the responsible friend, has recently married Kate Hudson, gone to work for her dad (Michael Douglas), and is trying to make a place in the "grown-up" world. Owen Wilson plays the resident "Man-child," a buffoon who shirks responsibility and lives in a carefree (and hopeless) state. Conveniently, Wilson loses his place to live and so must move in with the newlyweds...

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