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Houseguest hell

Wilson does little to make our stay pleasurable in 'You, Me and Dupree'

Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 14, 2006 at midnight

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Two's company. Three's a crowd.

It's an old saying, but it points to just how worn-out You, Me and Dupree can feel. This generally punchless comedy leans heavily on the talents of Owen Wilson, once again showcasing his ability to do his slacker thing.

Wilson devotedly plows familiar soil as Dupree, the houseguest who nearly ruins the fledgling marriage of his best friend. Admittedly, Wilson excels at playing the ill-kempt guy who has no visible means of support, but his antics aren't enough to push Dupree over the top.

Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson portray newlyweds Carl and Molly. Wilson's Dupree is the best man at their wedding. Shortly after the Hawaiian nuptials, he lands in their home for a brief interlude that predictably turns into a prolonged and catastrophic visit.

Things go badly awry. Toilets overflow. Dupree grosses everyone out by sleeping in the buff on the sofa. Instead of looking for a job, he plays with the neighborhood kids. At one point, he's even caught masturbating in the living room.

An already-played-out idea receives little fresh life in Michael LeSieur's heavily contrived script. Hudson's Molly initially objects to Dupree. Then the burden shifts to Dillon's character, who suddenly becomes jealous of his buddy, thinking he might be stealing his wife's affections.

Playing yet another variation on the ruthless businessman he created in Wall Street, Michael Douglas appears as Molly's land-developing father, a tycoon whose sole purpose in life seems to involve humiliating his new son-in-law.

A preview audience found some laughs along the way, but for my money, the movie misses more than it hits, and it sometimes strains to be outrageous. Maybe that's because directors Anthony and Joe Russo inject bits of black comedy into a movie that also seems to aspire to sentimental and dramatic moments.

Occasional leavening efforts aside, nothing relieves the one-note quality of a comedy in which we're ultimately asked to root for the union of two characters who create very little by way of chemistry.

Hudson shows limited range, and Dillon, so impressive as a racist cop in Crash, seems miscast as a designer who must sacrifice his values to work for a father-in-law who's trying to ensure that he fails. Douglas' character is so protective of his name that he encourages Carl to get a vasectomy.

However You, Me and Dupree found its way to the screen, it certainly doesn't look like a comedy that was born from an original impulse. In fact, it has the feel of a movie that's trying to find a niche mostly in relation to other movies. It recalls everything from last year's Wedding Crashers to 1942's The Man Who Came to Dinner but doesn't compare favorably with most of its predecessors.

As is the case with most studio efforts, this one provides a few laughs, but the Russo brothers never find a consistent-enough comedy groove. As a result, You, Me and Dupree mostly sputters.

Robert Denerstein is the film critic. or 303-892-5424