27 Years Later, French Film Fans Still Wonder: What Happens to the Characters?

Adapted from a stage play of the same name, Francis Veber’s “Le Dîner de Cons” is one of the most beloved French comedies ever. Whenever the famous exploits of Thierry Lhermitte and Jacques Villeret are broadcast on TV, it’s impossible to switch channels once you hear any of the film’s countless iconic lines!

A blockbuster hit in the French box office upon its release in 1998, Veber’s feature film chronicles an eventful evening for Pierre Brochant, a publisher fond of mockery who has long participated in the cruel “dinners for idiots,” and François Pignon, the unfortunate soul Brochant invites over to mock.

One Last Phone Call

But when Brochant learns that his wife Christine has left him, the evening takes a totally unexpected turn, and suddenly, it’s all up to Pignon. Through a series of unbelievable phone calls, thick Belgian accents, and more or less polished strategies, the two men do everything they can to try to resolve the situation.

From start to finish, “Le Dîner de Cons” is a laugh riot, ending on a dramatic note that probably still plays in your head 27 years later.

At the film’s end, after Christine has been taken to the hospital following a car accident, François Pignon manages to call her, pretending to be a doctor, and decides to confess everything. Having recently found out why Pierre Brochant had invited him, he nobly narrates to Christine each step of the chaotic evening, and all the efforts Pierre made to find her.

Claiming he’s currently in a phone booth and that Pierre isn’t with him, he hangs up, confident he’s managed to mend the situation.

“What an idiot!”

“She’ll call back,” he assures Brochant with humility and magnanimity. In response, his host blurts out an apology, promising that he’ll think twice “before calling someone an idiot” again.

Things seem to have calmed down, and Francis Veber’s movie appears to be heading towards a classic happy ending. But then the phone rings again: Christine is calling her husband back.

Caught up in the moment, François instinctively picks up the receiver, thereby revealing that he was not in a phone booth at all, and thus discrediting every word he had just spoken.

The movie ends with a baffling dialogue between the two characters: Pignon, utterly sorry, asserts that “he’ll call her back” and that “everything will be okay,” while Brochant, stunned, keeps repeating: “What an idiot! Oh, the idiot!”

Delightfully frustrating and just as funny as the rest of the film, this cliffhanger ending, accompanied by Vladimir Cosma’s excellent theme music, has left us to our imaginations for nearly three decades.

Will Pignon manage to convince Christine again? Will things smooth over between her and Brochant? Will Brochant become friends with Pignon? It’s up to you to decide!

(Re)discover the trailer for “Le Dîner de Cons”…