Francis Veber’s cult comedy with Jacques Villeret and Thierry Lhermitte is broadcast on TF1 this Wednesday evening. But did you know that it is inspired by the true story lived by a very famous French actor?
The stupid dinnerone of comedies the most popular French women is broadcast on the TV program this Wednesday, July 5, 2023. It is on TF1 that you will have to go to find François Pignon and Pierre Brochant in the adaptation of the play by Francis Veber. And as improbable as it may seem, this film which stages dinner parties in which a “con” capable of talking for hours on an improbable subject is inspired by a true story.
Indeed, these “cons dinners” really existed and were invented in the 1920s by the French writer André Breton. Subsequently, other meals of this type were organized at the Parisian restaurant Chez Castel, which inspired Francis Veber for his play. It was Jacques Martin, in charge of bringing a “con” to the meal, who told him about the holding of these dinners. And a French actor would have been invited as the “con” of the dinner: Claude Brasseur.
“It was at the time when he was doing the Paris-Dakar, explained Francis Veber to the Belgian site Cinopsis when the film was released. His friends would have confessed to him, afterwards, the true content of these dinners. Without rancor or almost therefore, since Claude Brasseur then played in the play The stupid dinner… the role of Pierre Brochant, held in the film by Thierry Lhermitte.
Real popular success and rare French film to have had success in England, The stupid dinner ranked second in the French box office of 1998, behind titanic with its 9 million entries. François Pignon is a recurring character in the films of Francis Veber: he also exists in Freinds, Lining or The fugitives For example. The film, rewarded in particular by three Césars and two Lumière prizes, is taken from the play of the same name which was a great success at the time. It was adapted in the United States in 2010 (The Dinner) but also in India (Bheja Fry).
Synopsis – Pierre Brochant (Thierry Lhermitte) organizes dinners every Wednesday with friends in which each guest must bring back an idiot, found at random and able to talk for hours on a subject that is possibly uninteresting, so that the guests can make fun of him all night without him noticing. Once the dinner is over, an election takes place to designate the champion of any category of idiots. And this time, Pierre is sure to win thanks to François Pignon (Jacques Villeret), accountant at the Ministry of Finance passionate about matchstick models. Con maybe, but also king in the art of triggering the worst disasters to the point of no longer making Pierre laugh at all. The evening will probably not go at all as he had initially planned.