My Dinner with Andre

Alan4.0

More like Andre's dinner with Andre.

Simone4.5

Lately, I've been reconnecting with a lot of former friends and acquaintances from high school and college. And no, I don't mean on Facebook. I mean sitting down and having an actual conversation, filled with meaningful dialogue, heart wrenching regrets, near-death experiences, and spirited philosophical debates. While watching My Dinner with Andre, sometimes I checked out from whatever they were talking about and let my mind wander to things relevant to my own life. By the end I was moved and refreshed, just like I feel after these dinners/meet-ups I've been having that are becoming more and more frequent as I get older.I can't say I have anything in common with white male playwrights, one of whom is content with his predictable life of routine, the other constantly pushing the boundaries of his beliefs and experiences. In this case, I didn't need to connect to either character in order to enjoy the film as a whole. I simply enjoyed the fact that they genuinely seemed to enjoy each other's company so much and how open they were to being transformed by the experience. To be honest, I thought Andre was pretentious and self-obsessed, and that he was missing out on the important things in life by constantly talking about them in rapturous story-telling mode. I thought Wally was slightly more sympathetic, but he still rubbed me the wrong way with his annoyingly obvious voiceovers in the beginning and the end.What this film experience really boiled down to for me was how it was perfectly able to capture the exhilaration one feels from forming a fleeting bond with someone who isn't constantly in your life. This space created between Andre and Wally felt like a safe little temporary bubble where they could take a break from their real lives in order to put everything into perspective. It's also an opportunity to vent frustrations and be honest about things that could cause permanent damage in real-life relationships. This little dreamland I was able to spy on for just a short two hours perfectly mirrored what I've experienced in real life. I can't be sure with just one watch, but this just might be a masterpiece.

Scumbalina5.0

I watched this twice today. Wallace Shawn speaks from a place of familiar futility. He's the voice of the audience. Upon first viewing, I somewhat disliked Andre. He has the luxury of purchased hipster reality. He participates in quack cult-like retreats in foreign countries as away to reconnect with his humanity. Wally struggles to pay his bills and is content with the simple details of life, but in turn never bothers to ask important questions or take any risks. Having lived in poverty for many years I will say that questioning your relationships and goals is a privilege of the rich. Travel is impossible, you're lucky if you can make your way out to a party that you probably don't even want to attend. Everything that Wally expresses sounded like the echo of my thoughts at one time or another; and having my simple joys challenged by Andre pissed me off.The second viewing felt more like an even playing field. As Andre began his monologue I appreciated his desire to reach something only occasionally obtainable. He was desperate to see what was right in front of him, and acknowledges it in the end. His approach may be absurd but his intentions are understandable. Wally's self-made sheltered life has glimpses of truth but the real magic, the experience they both long for, exists somewhere in between. Not one extreme or the other but an acceptance and awareness that's discovered in the kinetic energy of their conversation. the ability to experience true catharsis through the power of human connection is fundamentally what separates us from the Orewellian Nigtmare they refer to in the film.I understand why Wally was dreading this meeting with Andre. If I had a friend who stirred things like this up in me I'd hardly want to be faced with these things on a regular basis. But sometimes you just have to wake up. Reconnect a few of the mechanics that make you a person before slowly drifting back into the Westernized dream-life of adult responsibilities.