Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z!!!

Dull and pretentious beyond belief. Most of the first hour consists of Andre Gregory bloviating about all sorts of soul-awakening experiences he had while visiting places that Wallace Shawn (and very few other people) have visited. In other words he's given himself license to talk crap without opposition. You can almost hear the riposte he's got prepared: "Oh, really? Have you ever been to Tibet?"

The answer you have to come to is that if going to Tibet makes you talk nonsense, you should stay at home.

1987's "My Dinner with Andre" is a Louis Malle production that may have initially been a good idea on paper. But, unfortunately, on film, its overall execution clearly went well-beyond being just plain bad far too quickly.

Mainly consisting of just idle ranting and raving - I patiently waited 20, then 40, then 60, then 80 minutes - And, then, it was finally at this point that the conversation between Andre and Wallace actually began to pick up some steam.

But, as expected - By this time, I had become just too restless and bored to really give a sweet damn what the hell these 2 clowns were discussing. And, so, for me, this movie was nothing but a major disappointment on all counts. I ain't kidding here.

And, what is 1981's "My Dinner With Andre" all about - You may ask??

Well - If you can imagine yourself as a customer at a fancy-schmancy restaurant and you are sitting at a table next to the likes of Boris Karloff and Elmer Fudd who are engaging in a rather loud, half-assed conversation - That should give you a pretty good idea of this film's plot-line.

For me - The bulk of the conversation that took place between this film's 2 less-than-dynamic characters was certainly far from being anything coming close to real "meat and potatoes" talk. That's for sure. In fact - I found it to be just "watery soup" rantings and ravings for the most part.

After having to endure paying attention to 80 minutes of Andre's incessant babble and kitchen-counter philosophy (while Wallace listened on with the keenest of interest) was (indeed) a real test of my patience.

I mean - This particular chin-wag only started to pick up some significant steam in its last 30 minutes. And by that point I was way too bored to care one way or the other about what was being said between the likes of Boris and Elmer here.

Great film from a great director ~ 420

"Someone asked me the other day if I could name a movie that was entirely devoid of cliches. I thought for a moment, and then answered, My Dinner with Andre." -- Roger Ebert (1940–2013)

Certainly interesting, but rather long. I enjoyed discussing this movie with other people more than I actually enjoyed watching it, and I also found Wally Shawn (the narrator) very distracting. It wasn't his fault that he was Vizzini in The Princess Bride, but I couldn't get that out of my head. However, once I got past that, I enjoyed the food for thought that this movie gave me. An interesting movie, but not one that will appeal to everyone. If you're looking for a different movie, one to make you ponder things, though, this one just may be right for you.

The movie equivalent of having to sit through a meal with a drama queen chatterbox. The only difference is that you can turn this one off (which I did around 45 minutes in).

My beloved but eccentric Uncle had been pestering me to watch this movie for what seems like a few years. Finally, last night, I had him over for dinner and we watched this film. For me personally, it was an "Ah ha!" moment in understanding him and his obsession with the importance of a slow meal and some good conversation. While many in the current age of entertainment may find this film boring, it says something about our perception of the world that, unless you've had dinner with my Uncle, you may not have heard.

You've seen the video game on The Simpsons. You've maybe heard this movie is just two dudes talking. Well, it is just two dudes talking, but the conversation that takes place between Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory is spellbinding. You get to eavesdrop on two smart but very different people and their takes on the world. Just bite the bullet and watch it!