History Film / TheDinnerGame

* YourCheatingHeart:
** Pierre Brochant cheated on his wife Christine with Marlène Sasseur.
** [[spoiler:Cheval's wife]] cheated on her husband with Pascal Meneaux.

* JerkAss: Pierre Brochant, all the way
* TheKlutz: François Pignon.

* NiceGuy: Pignon.

* PunnyName: Juste Leblanc.
** Also, Marlène Sasseur

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: main character Brochant takes part in the dinners, [[spoiler: stole his best friend's wife, cheated on her for two years, and now refuses to acknowledge his mistress' existence]]. This is lampshaded in the end by Brochant, who, while [[spoiler:trying to commit suicide]], moans about how everyone hates him and that even an idiot like Pignon will hate "meanie Brochant".

** Brochant is Leblanc's friend, but he steals his wife.

Every Wednesday, French editor Pierre Brochant and some of his friends organize a very special dinner: a "dîner de cons" (Literally: "Dinner of idiots"), where whoever brings the dumbest guest wins.

A 1998 French comedy by Francis Veber, '''''Le dîner de cons''''' (''The Dinner Game'') was a financial and critical success in France and in the United Kingdom. Based on Veber's long-running play of the same name, the movie won Best Scenario, Best Actor and Best 2nd Actor at the Césars Awards. It remains a cult movie in France and one of the late Jacques Villeret's most beloved roles.

* [[PrankDate Prank Dinner]]: Type 3

Every Wednesday, French editor Pierre Brochand and some of his friends organize a very special dinner: a "dîner de cons" (Literally: "Dinner of idiots"), where whoever brings the dumbest guest wins.

Desperate to find a suitable candidate for the week, Brochand invites a friend's recommendation: François Pignon, a taxman who build models out of matchsticks and seems like "a real winner". Unfortunately, Brochand hadn't exactly counted on the fact that on the evening of the dinner, he'd have thrown his back playing golf, his wife would have left him and he'd be stuck at home, alone with Pignon...

* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Pignon calls Leblanc as a Belgian film producer to get informations on Brochand's wife. He ends up hanging up without any information on the wife - but he sure is going to get the movie rights for cheap.

* CrackOhMyBack: Brochand hurts his back playing golf, and spends most of the film nursing his back injury. Said injury is what prevents him from taking Pignon to the dinner in the first place.

* DrivenToSuicide: Marlene threatens to commit suicide if Pignon hangs up the phone.
* DumbIsGood: Pignon is a well-intentioned idiot with a sometimes heartwarming compassion for people he's barely met, Brochand is a smug intellectual snob who mistreats his closest friends.
* FalseReassurance: When Brochand tells a friend on the phone that Pignon "looks like a real winner" ("''Il a une belle tête de vainqueur"''). Pignon sees it as proof that he's going to get a book deal. Brochand knows his friends thinks about the dinner.

* HereWeGoAgain: After the moral of the story and Pignon managing to fix everything in the span of several minutes, he manages to piss off Brochand's wife ''again'' by accidentally implying Brochand was feeding him lines.

* JerkAss: Pierre Brochand, all the way

* LaserGuidedKarma: Brochand is a jerkass. He stole his friend's wife. He cheated on her. He rejects his mistress. Oh, and his hobby is to make fun of people who are idiots in his opinion. In the end, he has thrown his back, his wife left him, his mistress does not want to meet him again, and his incomes will be controlled by the Ministry of Finance. [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}}, because Pignon decides to help him even if he knows why Brochand invited him and he manages to reconcile Brochand and his wife. [[DoubleSubversion Double subverted]], because finally Pignon ruins everything.]]
* LethalChef: Brochand, when he tries to turn his expensive wine into lower quality claret. Amusingly, he actually makes it ''better'', before making it worse
* LoveTriangle: Brochand stole Leblanc's wife. Pignon's wife was stolen by one of his colleagues.
* MistakenIdentity: Pignon mistakes Brochand's wife for Marlène Sasseur.

** Also, Marlene Sasseur

* RuleOfSymbolism: The opening scene shows someone throwing a boomerang. The boomerang comes back and hits the thrower in the face. This is a symbol of the fate of Brochand, who intends to make fun of Pignon, but will suffer from the effects of his own joke.
* SlobsVersusSnobs: Brochand and his friends are much wealthier than the people they make fun of. Their different lifestyles are emphasized: for example, Pignon and Cheval enjoy watching a popular sport like soccer, whereas Brochand plays golf.
* ToughRoom: Brochand's reaction to Cheval's jokes when he thinks his wife is at Meneaux's.

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: main character Brochand takes part in the dinners, [[spoiler: stole his best friend's wife, cheated on her for two years, and now refuses to acknowledge his mistress' existence]]. This is lampshaded in the end by Brochand, who, while [[spoiler:trying to commit suicide]], moans about how everyone hates him and that even an idiot like Pignon will hate "meanie Brochand".
* UnwantedAssistance: Brochand thinks this of Pignon, after he's managed to fall on him.

** Actually a plot point, when Pignon thinks Marlene is Brochand's sister because her name is Sasseur ("His sister").

** Brochand is Leblanc's friend, but he steals his wife.
** Pignon to Brochand, at least in the first part of the movie, when he tries to help him and makes everything worse.

* TwoGuysAndAGirl: Brochand, Leblanc and Le Guerec

* MistakenIdentity: Pignon mistakes Brochand's wife for Marlene Sasseur.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Pignon's Belgian accent, when Just asks him a question he doesn't expect.

* LethallyStupid: Pignon may be well-intentionned, all he does until the end is making Brochand's life worse and worse.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Pignon is at times shown to be not ''quite'' as stupid as Brochand thinks he is - not that that's saying much. And at other times [[ZigZaggingTrope he manages to be much more so...]]

* SlobsVersusSnobs: Brochand and his friends are much wealthier than the people they make fun of. Their difference in taste is emphasized: for example, Pignon and Cheval enjoy watching a popular sport like soccer, whereas Brochand plays golf.

* TooDumbToLive: Pignon, although it's not so much that he's dumb as easily distracted.

* CrackOhMyBack: Brochand hurts his back playing golf, and spends most of the film nursing his back injury. Said injury is what prevents him from taking Pignon to the dinner in the fist place.

Remade in America as ''Film/DinnerForSchmucks''.

A 1998 French comedy by Francis Veber, '''''Le dîner de cons''''' (''The Dinner Game'') was a financial and critical success in France and in the United Kingdom. Based on Veber's long-running play of the same name, the movie won Best Scenario, Best Actor and Best 2nd Actor at the French Césars Awards. It remains a cult movie in France and one of the late Jacques Villeret's most beloved roles.

* StopHelpingMe: Brochand to Pignon, after he's managed to fall on him.

A 1998 French comedy by Francis Veber, '''''Le dîner de cons''''' (''The Dinner Game'') was a financial and critical success in France and in the United Kingdom. Based on Veber's long-running play of the same name, the movie won Best Scenario, Best Actor and Best 2nd Actor at the French Cesar Awards. It remains a cult movie in France and one of the late Jacques Villeret's most beloved roles.

* FalseReassurance: When Brochand tells a friend on the phone that Pignon "looks like a real winner". Pignon sees it as proof that he's going to get a book deal. Brochand knows his friends thinks about the dinner.

* CrackOhMyBack: Brochand hurts his back playing golf, and spends most of the film nursing his back injury.

A 1998 French comedy by Francis Veber, ''Le dîner de cons'' (''The Dinner Game'') was a financial and critical success in France and in the United Kingdom. Based on Veber's long-running play of the same name, the movie won Best Scenario, Best Actor and Best 2nd Actor at the French Cesar Awards. It remains a cult movie in France and one of the late Jacques Villeret's most beloved roles.

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: main character Brochand takes part in the dinners, [[spoiler: stole his best friend's wife, cheated on her for two years, and now refuses to acknowledge his mistress' existence]]

* CrackOhMyBack: Brochand hurts his back playing golf.

* CountryMatters: The ''literal'' translation of "diner de cons" is, well, let's say it's something slightly ruder than "[[Film/DinnerForSchmucks schmuck]]". The French word ''con'' is now (almost) only used to mean an idiot/moron, but its mainly-forgotten ''actual'' meaning is much more offensive in English.