Friday Night Flicks: My Dinner with Andre

Years ago I was deep diving on YouTube looking for old films to watch free of charge — back in the “old timey days “when the algorithm didn’t force feed us garbage vlogs and ads and you could find absolute cinematic gold all over the place. I don’t know what it was that caught my eye about this film — it’s not exactly a blockbuster — but the subtle and straight forward nature of the premise (and title) got me. I watched these two men have a dinner conversation for more than an hour and a half and was totally enthralled the entire time.

The wikipedia basics give you the basics:

My Dinner with Andre is a 1981 American comedy drama film directed by Louis Malle, and written by and starring André Gregory and Wallace Shawn as fictionalized versions of themselves sharing a conversation at Café des Artistes in Manhattan. The film's dialogue covers topics such as experimental theater, the nature of theater, and the nature of life, and contrasts Andre's spiritual experiences with Wally's modest humanism.

It’s probably a tough sell to a bunch of friends over for movie night, but if you ever get the chance to make a strong cup of coffee, pop on some headphones and get lost in this dinner conversation — you’ll find a brilliant film that’s inspired many filmmakers, writers and been the subject of tons of pop culture references.—Travis