You, Me and Dupree is an attempt at showing the 'wacky' side of having a very loose, flaky friend stay over at your house, in this case of a married couple (Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson), only to have some mishaps and such ensue, leading to an Odd Couple scenario. Unfortunately, the film tells two stories really, and both of them carry close to (or are) one-note performances, with some very weak and predictable conclusions. The first is Randolph Dupree's story (Owen Wilson, not his worst nor not his best), as he has no place to crash after losing his job and getting kicked out of his cot at the bar. Dillon's character takes him in, even after just getting married to Hudson, and getting a risky promotion by his boss/new father-in-law played by Michael Douglas. Then some of the lesser side of Dupree's good natured and quirky way of life comes into form, including a very mis-managed date with a librarian named 'Mandy' (who, incidentally, is never even shown on screen).
But soon the second story takes into shape, which is where the writer and directors kind of loose their footing. Dillon's Carl then gets into a building rage kind of mode, which culminates in an attack moment that borders on Jake LaMotta (who is even referenced in relation to Carl), and one wonders if now the story may leave its predictable roots and go off into Anger Managment. Wilson makes Dupree "lovable", to an extent, but also kind of off-balance. On the one hand he's nice and thinking of others and with some off-kilter and laid-back goals, on the other hand he's also is like a little kid where he can sometimes not really take care of himself and does the 'hey I messed things up but I'll clean it up' attitude. Wilson elevates it from being even more broad and boring, but only so much can be done with the material before the amusing bits (and there are a few) go to the melodramatic of Dillon and Hudson's story. That certain supporting characters, chiefly Douglas's tight-ass father-in-law/CEO, are all without much dimension until the end, adds to the frustration.
In fact, it got to the point once the credits rolled where I thought 'gee, this may be the first time, speaking of Wilson, that I almost want to watch the flawed but enjoyable Wedding Crashers again; it may have had a similar problem with this film as to balancing comedy and typical romance carp, but at least it did give some solid laughs'. You, Me and Dupree is OK for one viewing, but it's quite forgettable summer rom-com fare.
But soon the second story takes into shape, which is where the writer and directors kind of loose their footing. Dillon's Carl then gets into a building rage kind of mode, which culminates in an attack moment that borders on Jake LaMotta (who is even referenced in relation to Carl), and one wonders if now the story may leave its predictable roots and go off into Anger Managment. Wilson makes Dupree "lovable", to an extent, but also kind of off-balance. On the one hand he's nice and thinking of others and with some off-kilter and laid-back goals, on the other hand he's also is like a little kid where he can sometimes not really take care of himself and does the 'hey I messed things up but I'll clean it up' attitude. Wilson elevates it from being even more broad and boring, but only so much can be done with the material before the amusing bits (and there are a few) go to the melodramatic of Dillon and Hudson's story. That certain supporting characters, chiefly Douglas's tight-ass father-in-law/CEO, are all without much dimension until the end, adds to the frustration.
In fact, it got to the point once the credits rolled where I thought 'gee, this may be the first time, speaking of Wilson, that I almost want to watch the flawed but enjoyable Wedding Crashers again; it may have had a similar problem with this film as to balancing comedy and typical romance carp, but at least it did give some solid laughs'. You, Me and Dupree is OK for one viewing, but it's quite forgettable summer rom-com fare.