Review of My Dinner with Andre (1981) by Ben L — 06 May 2014

I'm not a philosopher, and I think movies are a visual medium for a reason. So this is about as far from my area of interest as a film could possibly be. With that being said you have to know that 2 full stars is actually a surprisingly good rating from me.

I didn't hate the content of this film one bit, however it was the way it was presented that makes me unhappy with it. I thought Andre sounded like someone who'd been dropping acid for a few years.

My practical mind just kept thinking, "what's his wife and child doing while he's off living like a wood nymph?" I appreciated Wally's more level-headed look at life and he echoed many of my thoughts, but it's hard for me to take him seriously because I keep expecting him to talk about inconceivable things.

I liked some of what they were saying, and for a while I thought they were hitting on some solid points. At the same time I couldn't help thinking this film was absolutely not made for me, or anyone with a similar mindset.

I literally didn't watch three-quarters of the film, because the visuals were so uninteresting. I just listened to the audio while I worked (like I would any other podcast.) I feel nothing was lost when I was not watching their mouths form the words, in fact if this was an audio track only I might praise it for being an interesting debate between 2 playwrights with very different outlooks on life.

I never want to see this film again (I barely saw it this time) but I wouldn't mind hearing more thoughts from Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory.