You, Me and Dupree

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about You, Me and Dupree's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of You, Me and Dupree completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 4 August 2006.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie You, Me and Dupree contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

Carl (Matt Dillon) and Molly (Kate Hudson) are newlyweds in the process of unpacking their wedding gifts and exploring life as a newly married couple, while Carl’s best friend, Randy Dupree (Owen Wilson), has recently become jobless and homeless. Carl invites Dupree to stay with them until he gets back on his feet, thinking it will only be for a few days. It is not long before Dupree, who behaves like a 36-year-old teenager, makes life very difficult for the newlyweds. Life is also made difficult for Carl as Molly’s father Mr. Thompson (Michael Douglas), is also his boss, and disapproves of his daughter’s marriage.

Themes

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Adult relationships, immature behaviour

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

You, Me and Dupree contains occasional low-level slapstick type violence including:

• a fight between two boys playing baseball in the street. After the pitcher (a smaller boy) hits the batter (a larger/tougher boy) with a baseball, the batter attacks the pitcher, hitting him with his fists while the pitcher is lying on the ground.
  
• Carl jumps across the dinner table attacking Dupree. The force of Carl’s attack knocks Dupree to the ground and Carl then attempts to strangle him. The attempt results in Dupree visiting a hospital and wearing a neck brace for a short period of time.
  
• Molly’s father challenges Carl with a candle stick, and Carl dares Molly’s father to hit him. Molly’s father strikes Carl across the head with the candle stick holder knocking Carl to the ground.
  
• after throwing his bike at a security guard, Dupree is chased down by the guard who attempts to spay mace into Dupree’s face.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

It is unlikely that the content of this movie would scare or disturb children.

Sexual references

There are several sexual references in this movie, including the comments:

• Carl if you’re humping, stop it, I’m coming in.
  
• after Dupree is hit in the groin, he says: “I wrecked my little Duprees.”
  
• two women (implied that they are prostitutes) knock on Dupree’s door and say “We heard there were some bad boys in here.”
  
• Turns out that she is a total slut and is sleeping with half the faculty.
  
• Carl, says, in reference to Dupree writing poetry: “Man, what a homo!”.
  
• When Carl is discussing a vasectomy he says: “I’d only let a woman get to that part of my body”.
  That guy’s done more with one testicle than you or I could do with three.
  
• Is there anything worse than throwing away your porn?… Going to town on your self in my living room.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• Dupree lying naked and face down on the living room couch
  
• Molly in her underwear and a T-shirt
  
• Molly dressed in swimwear that looks like lingerie
  
• two women dressed as policewomen wearing black leather lingerie.
  
• Carl is shown lying in bed covered by blankets with Molly, dressed in underwear and T-shirt, is kneeling on top of the bed while straddling him. They kiss each other and Carl rubs his hands over Molly’s bottom. Dupree bursts into the room and Molly falls off the bed.
  it can be seen that Carl has an erection under the bed covers before he places a pillow on top of it.
  
• Dupree is on the living room couch with a woman, and although only naked legs are displayed, it is implied that both are naked and engaged in sexual activity.
• Dupree has butter smeared all over his fingers implying that this was being used in some sexual way.
  
• Molly walks in on Dupree, and it is implied that he is masturbating while watching pornographic videos.
  
• Carl imagines Molly wearing a brief swimsuit, walking towards Dupree and then kissing him.

Use of substances

There is some use of drugs and alcohol, including several scenes which glamourised reckless alcohol consumption:

• one of Dupree’s friends performs what is referred to a “flaming tornado”, in which he removes his pants, places lemon slices on his eyes, lies on top of the bar while a funnel is placed in his mouth. Alcohol is then poured into his mouth and set on fire.
  sometime later the same person was shown unconscious and lying on a beach
  
• a number of Carl’s rowdy male friends consume numerous bottles of beer while watching a football game on TV
  
• Carl drowns his sorrows with a bottle of tequila.
  
• Carl and Molly drink wine sometimes with their evening meals
  
• there are a couple of bar room scenes in which Carl and his friends consume beer from glasses and jugs.
  
• Carl sometimes drinks Scotch when he arrives home after work.
  
• Carl and his friends sometimes smoke cigarettes and large cigars, usually while drinking.
  

The manner in which alcohol and tobacco products is used, may influence and reinforce their use with some adolescents.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• shitting me
  
• shit balls
  
• bullshit
  
• screwed up
  
• arse
  
• dicking around
  
• slut
  
• in the shitter.

The movie's message

You, Me and Dupree is a flimsy romantic comedy with none of the film’s leading stars providing a memorable performance. There are a few laughs, but most of the film’s humour is crude rather than funny or clever.

Despite Dupree’s immature and reckless behaviour, he demonstrates a strange type of wisdom, loyalty and ultimately selflessness. Parents may wish to discuss the manner in which alcohol consumption and abuse is treated as humorous, and point out the real life dangers and consequences of alcohol misuse. Parents may also wish to question the portrayal of wives as jailers, who ruthlessly control their husband’s every action.