My Dinner with Andre (DVD)

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Wally defends his bourgeois existence with gusto. Andre, to his credit, is a good sport about it. Deep down, he knows he´s peddling snake oil and it becomes clear that he really does value Wally´s friendship. It would have been too easy for the final act to end acrimoniously, providing a traditionally dramatic denouement. But they do what friends do. They talk out their differences and get to know each other a little better in the process.

One of the pleasures of film is the opportunity to see things we don´t normally get to see. As mundane as it seems, we rarely get to watch other people have a simple dinner conversation. Of course, this is a rehearsed, highly polished conversation between two performers riffing on their real life personas, but still the film´s explicit argument is that a mundane event like this is worthy of being put on film and subsequently being viewed by others. And the fact that it remains a popular draw even today is proof that the film´s argument is a valid one.

VIDEO

The film is presented in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. "Andre" was filmed in 16mm and blown up to 35mm, so the image is grainy and the resolution is not as sharp as we´ve become accustomed to from Criterion but that´s because of the source material, not the transfer. It´s a very solid effort.

AUDIO

The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. Optional English subtitles support the English audio.

EXTRAS

Both extras are on Disc Two of this 2-disc set.

Director Noah Baumbach records separate interviews with Andre Gregory and Wallace Shaw, each about a half hour long. They´re included in the same feature and can be watched either separately or an hour long program. They were recorded recently for the Criterion Collection.

"My Dinner with Louis" (42 min.) is a 1982 episode of the BBC program "Arena." Wallace Shawn meets with Louis Malle in Atlantic City to discuss Malle´s career. Directed by Tristram Powell.

The insert booklet includes an essay by Amy Taubin and the prefaces written by Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory to their published screenplay.

FILM VALUE

Watching "My Dinner with Andre" on DVD gives viewers the chance to pay attention to the lesser-discussed aspects of the movie. While Louis Malle shoots in a fairly straightforward matter, shifting between close-ups and two-shots, the strategic placement of a mirror behind the dinner companions gives the longer shots more energy and keeps Andre´s face in view even when he´s turned away from the camera. And then of course there´s the marvelous waiter, played by non-professional actor Jean Lenauer, who likes like he might have snuck in from a French B-horror movie.

If you´ve only heard of "My Dinner with Andre" by way of its pop culture parodies, you may have some preconceptions about the film. Place them aside and watch the movie with a fresh eye because it´s a lot more vibrant and flat-out entertaining than you might think. It´s not just a "bo-ring" movie for movie geeks. It´s lots of fun.

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