SummaryTwo old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.
Directed By:Louis Malle
Written By:Wallace Shawn, Andre Gregory
My Dinner with Andre
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
83
User score
Generally Favorable
7.4
My Score
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Metascore
Universal Acclaim
80% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
20% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
A picture that represents so much of what I want and rarely get from a movie -- a couple of hours filled with characters who are as exciting as the people I know in real life. [11 Dec 1981]
91
Their talk feels as unforced as it is intense, but even that’s an illusion piled on top of an illusion. The film keeps returning to questions about the nature of reality and the function of performance, whether in theater or in everyday life.
90
It's a riveting, provocative film that rewards several viewings.
80
This is a bizarre and surprisingly entertaining satirical comedy--the story of the search beyond theatre turned into theatre, or, at least, into a movie.
75
The synthesis is a revealing and extremely funny portrait of urban schizophrenia in the waning years of the twentieth century. [21 May 1982]
60
Louis Malle's somewhat overrated My Dinner With Andre is a filmed conversation between two friends, and whether you find the movie profound, pretentious, or entertaining will depend on how interesting you find the talk.
60
A completely merited cult favourite of the avant-garde genre. This is surprisingly compelling in places.
User score
Generally Favorable
70% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
25% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
5% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Jan 22, 2026
8
This movie's ascetic form is inversely proportional to its richness of substance.
May 26, 2024
5
On one hand this film, which centers around a little over a ninety minute conversation between two real people in show business, is unbelievably pretentious. On the other, you get to see a really fascinating and enticing side of the character actor Wallace Shawn, who will probably best be remembered for his "never get involved in a land war in Asia" quip from "The Princess Bride." I'm giving the film a 5, not because it is mediocre, but rather because it very much is a blank slate onto which you will project your expectations. Whether or not you find yourself surprised and delighted, or bored and checking the running time, is very much up to your answer to the question, how interested am I in watching two men talk about the theater and relate it to their lives? Sister and Ebert (both RIP) loved this film. It's easy to understand why, when you consider how *different* it is the myriad films they watched as they plied their trade. The NY Times calls it "as relevant today as ever." **** Andre Gregory (the other party in the conversation) let slip that that he was under the influence of ayahuasca (or called his mystical experiences a "darkness retreat"), I can totally see that. I stumbled onto this film by my curiousity over the line "Mr Freddie Blassie in breakfast mess." from REM's 1992 classic song "Man on the Moon." It is a reference to Andy Kaufmann's extremely well-done parody of this film called "My Breakfast with Blasse." It is highly recommended that you check it out after watching this film.
