Film
The Dinner Game
- Comedy
- Light-hearted
A Parisian dinner party game turns catastrophic when a smug executive brings along a seemingly hapless office worker, only to discover he's a force of chaos that unravels everything. It's a masterclass in escalating mayhem—elegant, perfectly timed, and deeply silly. For anyone who loves comedy where every joke lands and consequences keep mounting.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love farce built on escalating misunderstandings, where a hapless guest's cheerful obliviousness keeps tightening the screws on a smug host and his friends.
Skip it if you want restrained, character-driven comedy, since this one is broad, loud and mostly content to keep pushing one joke until it strains.
What it asks of you: about eighty minutes in one flat over a single evening, with the pace tightening rather than relaxing as each complication lands.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
A Fish Called Wanda1988
Ensemble comedy built on escalating chaos and character humiliation, where four thieves bring out the absolute worst in each other. Every scene tightens the screws.
But The comedy is mean-spirited, and one joke involves animal cruelty that lands differently now than it did in 1988.

Withnail & I1987
Two unemployed actors stumble through misadventure with impeccable comic timing and dialogue that rewards repeated viewings. Pure character chaos, no plot.
But It's very British, very strange, and deliberately plotless—if you need things to make sense, this will frustrate you.

Le Doulos1962
A French noir thriller with wit and style, where paranoia and betrayal unfold with Gallic sophistication. It's tense, clever, and endlessly rewatchable.
But It's in French with subtitles and moves at 1960s deliberate pace. The plot requires attention.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Dinner Game
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
PlayTime1967
Both films trust physical comedy and circumstance over plot, where a gentle protagonist brings chaos to formal social rituals.
Jacques Tati's masterpiece about a bumbling man navigating a sterile, modernist Paris. Comedy comes from physical performance and architectural absurdity, not words or plot. It's visual comedy at its most sophisticated.
But It's a 2-hour film where almost nothing happens and dialogue is nearly inaudible. The long shots mean you often can't see the gags clearly. Patience required.

More like this (6)
Some Like It Hot1959
Two musicians hide from mobsters by going undercover as women in an all-female band. The setup is absurd and the execution is pitch-perfect.
But It's from 1959, so the gender comedy feels of its time, and the pacing is slower than modern comedy.

Singin' in the Rain1952
A romantic musical where kindness and talent triumph, with sequences of pure joy. It's practically perfect and somehow feels like a gift.
But If you don't care about musicals, the plot is thin, and the singing-and-dancing interludes may feel like interruptions rather than the point.

Kind Hearts and Coronets1949
Alec Guinness plays eight roles in a murder-comedy where a working-class man eliminates his wealthy relatives to inherit a dukedom. Darkly funny and structurally brilliant.
But It's a post-war British film where the pacing is glacial by modern standards, and the humour is sometimes subtle to the point of silence.

Bottle Shock2008
A California wine competition story where an ordinary man and his son challenge French supremacy. It's warm, funny, and has genuine heart beneath the comedy.
But It's a feel-good film, which means it rarely surprises and the stakes are never really there.

Beetlejuice1988
A couple haunts their house with a rogue ghost to scare away the new owners. Darkly comic, visually inventive, and genuinely weird.
But The tone shifts between horror-comedy and whimsy, which can feel tonally confused. Some gags don't land.

After Hours1985
A man's night out in downtown New York becomes a surreal spiral of humiliation and mistake. It's off-kilter, paranoid, and hypnotically watchable.
But It's deliberately disorienting and darkly cynical about human nature—if you want reassurance, this film offers none.

People
Cast
Jacques VilleretFrançois Pignon
Thierry LhermittePierre Brochant
Francis HusterJuste Leblanc
Daniel PrévostLucien Cheval
Alexandra VandernootChristine Brochant
Catherine FrotMarlène Sasseur
Edgar GivryJean Cordier
Christian PereiraDoctor Sorbier
Benoît BellalBichaud, first animator
Jacques BleuThird animator
Philippe BrigaudBoomerang enthusiast guest
Michel CacciaGuest
Directing
- Francis VeberDirector
Writing
- Francis VeberScreenplay
Production
- Françoise MenidreyCasting
- Alain PoiréProducer
Recommended by
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Oleanna, Miss and the Doctors, Perfect Strangers, The Price of Nonna's Inheritance, Dinner for One, Campfire Tales, Melvin Goes to Dinner, The Caiman, Murder Mystery, Carpool, Marguerite