Fan Fare

You, Me and Dupree

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo

If you're madly in love with Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson, you'll want to dash to the theater to catch You, Me and Dupree because the film delivers a full dose of the two-charming as ever-playing characters you've seen them play before in other films. Here, Wilson plays Dupree, the loveable but ne'er-do-well slacker best friend of Carl, a regular standup kinda guy (played straight on straight man by Matt Dillon) who's newly wed to Molly (Hudson), a proper-ish sweetie-pie grade school teacher.

When Dupree loses his job, his car and crib, he moves in with Carl and Molly, entirely disrupting their yuppie lives: he sleeps butt-naked on their butter-soft leather sofa, causes their toilets to overflow, invites the guys (and strippers) to watch sports on TV, causes fights amongst neighborhood kids, spreads his crap all over the place and has kinky, candle-lit sex with Molly's librarian friend causing a fire that scorches that same sofa.

Meanwhile, Carl, who's squelched at work by his overbearing employer/father-in-law (Michael Douglas), stops functioning at home. So, Molly confides in and bonds with Dupree, who, in an instantaneous and unexplained reversal of character, reveals himself to be a truly sensitive, supportive companion-preparing gourmet dinners, reading Mensa journals, writing haiku and making Carl inflammably jealous. Wow! Isn't this the funniest?

Not really.

Admittedly, Wilson's comic timing produces a few good laughs within the lackluster script, and it's hard to dislike the cute-as-a-button Hudson. But Dupree isn't their finest filmic hour-or (actually) 105 minutes. All three actors are capable of so much more, but this material's a real crash for Matt Dillon.

Of course, Dupree might just be this summer's best date flick though-since if you start smooching, you won't miss anything you really need to know. On the other hand, there's not much to turn you on.