The Dinner Game
Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment | Release Date: June 25, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
0
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Ray Conlogue
It's a long time since I've heard a press screening audience applaud a foreign film, but then it's a long time since a French movie has been as funny as The Dinner Game. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The picture, written and directed by Francis Veber, the screenwriter of "La Cage Aux Folles,'' is a complete success. Read full review
80
Film ThreatMerle Bertrand
Just a plain old fun movie. Read full review
80
VarietyLisa Nesselson
Abetted by an excellent cast, vet writer Weber weaves a simple premise into comedy gold. Read full review
80
Film ThreatAnthony Miele
Easily the funniest and most charming film that has been or will be released in 1999 -- period. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyF. X. Feeney
The fun is in getting there, and in the mechanics, charted by writer-director Francis Veber. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
The Dinner Game, which Veber wrote and directed, is one of his better-constructed comedies of errors. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
A laugh-aloud film that exemplifies the snap-crackle-pop of exquisite comic timing. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneJohn Petrakis
The Dinner Game works thanks to some exceptionally strong acting, impeccable timing and rapid-fire delivery of many funny lines. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
A featherweight parlor-room French farce in need of an anchor to keep it from being blown away by the summer blockbuster gales. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Veteran French farceur Francis Veber proves that feature-length idiot humor is not limited to the Farrelly brothers. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Adapted from a long-running stage play, The Dinner Game has been refined to peak comic efficiency, with every misunderstanding and hare-brained scheme neatly cascading into bigger and bigger catastrophes. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Shtick isn't all this movie has to offer. Read full review
70
NewsweekAndrea C. Basora
Manages to maintain its humor and energy until the final scene. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverJimmy Fowler
A perfectly entertaining little French comedy that doesn't quite lodge in your brain in the way you hope it would. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
No one could claim that the film is a distinguished contribution to cinema, but it would be churlish to resist its geniality and speed. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
If not cinema magic, The Dinner Game is still a workable screwball comedy. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
There are times when the comedy works, but the number of genuinely amusing sequences are outnumbered by those that, in trying to generate laughter, simply seem silly. Read full review
20
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
This stage-bound farce could easily be an American sitcom: It's all slamming doors, eavesdropping and stupid miscommunications, garnished with a heavy-handed helping of comedy of humiliation. Read full review
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