My Dinner with Andre (1981)
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Two old friends share a deep, philosophical conversation over dinner in a Manhattan café.
The story
Struggling playwright and actor Wally dreads having dinner with his old friend Andre, whom he has been avoiding since Andre gave up his career as a theater director in 1975. The two men meet at Café des Artistes in Manhattan to share a meal and a conversation. Their dialogue covers a wide range of topics, including experimental theater, the nature of theater, and the nature of life, while contrasting Andre's spiritual experiences with Wally's more modest humanism.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Wally, a playwright who has focused on making money over art, meets his friend Andre, who spent years traveling the world and exploring spiritual and artistic extremes. At Café des Artistes, Andre recounts his adventures, including working with Jerzy Grotowski in Poland, traveling to the Sahara, and visiting the Findhorn commune. Wally argues that Andre's lifestyle is not possible for most people, preferring the comfort of ordinary life. Andre counters that modern life in New York is more like a dream than reality, expressing fears of totalitarianism and the state of art. After the other customers leave, the two share a moment of connection. Following the meal, Wally takes a taxi home, feeling a deep connection to the familiar places he passes, and eventually tells his girlfriend about the dinner.
- First release year
- 1981
- Runtime (minutes)
- 111
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Louis Malle
- Writers
- Wallace Shawn · writer; André Gregory · writer
- Cast and characters
- André Gregory · Andre; Wallace Shawn · Wallace "Wally" Shawn; Jean Lenauer · Waiter; Roy Butler · Bartender; Cindy Lou Adkins · Coat-Check Girl (uncredited)
- Genres
- comedy-drama
- Themes
- the nature of theater; the nature of life; spiritual experience vs. humanism; art vs. commerce
- Tone and mood
- philosophical; introspective
- Setting
- Café des Artistes in Manhattan
- Premise and plot tags
- two-hander; philosophical fiction; conversation-driven
- Reception
- Reception was largely positive upon initial release, and over time My Dinner with Andre has come to be regarded as a classic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 93% · review count: 27; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 7.8 · scale: 10; Metacritic · score: 83 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Awards and nominations
- Best American Film of 1981 · Best American Film · 1981 · win; Best Screenplay · Best Screenplay · 1981 · win
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in a vacant hotel in Richmond, Virginia, to resemble a New York City café.; The film was based on real events in the actors' lives.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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