 Critics seem to agree that Owen Wilson plays what the Philadelphia Inquirer's Steven Rea describes as "a pop-eyed, lovably obnoxious bachelor oaf" and "a spirited slacker" well. The problem is, most of them suggest, You, Me and Dupree is not much of a showcase for his talent. Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post calls it "formulaic, shockingly sloppy and virtually laugh-free." Chris Kaltenbach in the Baltimore Sun remarks, "This is a comedy ever holding itself in check, filled with plot threads and asides that seem as though they should be funny but almost always fall short of the mark." ABC's Joel Siegel, who calls Wilson "one of the funniest people making movies today," says of the film: "The situations in this sitcom never get as funny as they should. A scene about a backed-up toilet has the worst punch lines I've ever heard in any work anyone has gotten paid for. Period. And the screenplay is almost never believable." |
