Owen Wilson is back once again as the goofy-yet-lovable, thirty-something guy who doesn’t feel it’s necessary to grow up- ever- in the new film “You, Me and Dupree.”

Matt Dillon, Kate Hudson and Michael Douglas star alongside Wilson who steals the show despite his played out shtick.

The movie begins with Carl and Molly Peterson’s (Dillon and Hudson) wedding in Hawaii, where Dupree (Owen) begins a series of screw ups and mishaps by landing on the wrong island, forcing his best buddy Carl to come and fetch him.

At the wedding reception, Molly’s father, pompous real estate mogul Mr. Thompson (Douglas), gets pleasure in poking fun at his new son-in-law who is also a Thompson employee through his sly but very emasculating toast to Carl.

With the honeymoon over, it’s time to get back to real life. Mr. Thompson gives Carl the job of lead designer for a new development he proposed, and everything seems to be getting along perfectly. That is, of course, until Dupree runs in his latest streak of bad fortune. He lost his job, his apartment and his car in one fell swoop and has been sleeping on a cot at the neighborhood bar. Carl invites Dupree to come home with him for a few days until he can get back on his feet. Though Molly resists at first, she gives in as the loving and supportive new wife.

As the days turn into weeks, it is clear that Dupree would never be mistaken for a work horse. He spends his days playing with the neighborhood boys, training on his huffy bicycle and being an all around mooch.

In an attempt to get him motivated to leave, Molly and Carl set him up with one of Molly’s coworkers which goes horribly wrong when, in an effort to be romantic, Dupree sets the house on fire with his abundance of lit candles. Carl finally takes a stand and gives Dupree the boot.

Dupree goes to stay with his new gal, but when the relationship sours Carl and Molly find him sitting on a bench in the pouring rain. They can’t abandon him and invite him back into their home.
As if there wasn’t enough chaos in this movie, it gets worse.

Stressed out and overworked, Carl isn’t paying much attention to Molly. Their relationship begins to crack under the pressure. Molly doesn’t believe Carl when he tells her that her father doesn’t like him, which causes even more friction. Meanwhile Dupree suddenly becomes the sensitive, caring shoulder to lean on for Molly.

Carl thinks Dupree is moving in on his wife, and their friendship collapses; Molly is mad at Carl for treating both her and Dupree so poorly; and Carl takes a daily verbal beating from his father-in-law. All of this comes to a head at a family dinner which lands Dupree in the hospital and leaves Carl with a lump on his head from a blow courtesy of Mr. Thompson.

Of course an Owen Wilson movie wouldn’t be complete without Dupree saving the day that he almost ruined. Molly and Carl make amends, and Molly’s dad even apologizes for his part in sabotaging their marriage. Everyone wins.

“You, Me and Dupree” has gotten poor reviews thus far from critics far and wide. I went into it expecting very little and was pleasantly surprised. It was funny and had three likable leads in Wilson, Dillon and Hudson, a new combination that worked well together.

While the plot itself is below par I think the actors did what they could and left me laughing more often than I expected. It is rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief nudity (an unexpected and somewhat startling shot of Dupree’s backside), crude humor, language and a drug reference. Basically, not a film for the kiddies.

Michael Douglas serves the film well as an egocentric big shot who knows no bounds when it comes to belittling and abusing his only daughter’s new husband. He goes so far as to try and intimidate Carl into changing his last name and even has the name plate changed on Carl’s office door to Peterson-Thompson. The straw that breaks the theoretical camel’s back, however, comes when Thompson asks Carl to get a vasectomy.

Not the funniest of Owen Wilson’s goofy guy repertoire, but descent enough. Anyone who likes Wilson and doesn’t mind recycled humor should get a kick out of “You, Me and Dupree.”

**1/2

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