A happily married couple discover their friends are not as happy as they thought, and they begin to wonder how sound their own relationship can be, in this made-for-cable adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Donald Margulies. Gabe (Dennis Quaid) and Karen (Andie MacDowell) are a pair of wedded food writers who more than a decade ago introduced their close friends Tom (Greg Kinnear) and Beth (Toni Collette). Tom and Beth fell in love and got married, but one night as Gabe and Karen are making dinner, they receive startling news from Beth — Tom has left her for another woman, and the two are filing for divorce. Gabe and Karen soon feel as if they are being forced to take sides in the heated battle between Tom and Beth, and as the combative couple separates and both parties move on to new relationships, The play shows how divorce effects the relationships of the people around them as well as themselves. Gabe and Karen find themselves taking a long, hard look at their own marriage — and they’re not sure how happy they are with what they find. Directed by Norman Jewison, Dinner With Friends was produced for the HBO premium cable network, where it premiered on August 11, 2001.

deletereply sweetpotatoqueen wrote on Feb 6, ’08 I really enjoyed this movie. I loved howthe 2 faces of relationships were portrayed~the side the world sees and then what the real workings. Have you seen the HBO series “Say You Love Me”? It is all about relationships as well.

deletereply philsgal7759 wrote on Feb 7, ’08 Haven’t seen this but it sounds like a good play. I have 2 brothers whose wives left them for other men. It is a strange dynamic when they are family one minute and the women  who hurt your brothers and their children the next Yes, there divorces have affected all of us.

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Feb 7, ’08 I forgot to mention that the playwright, Donald Margulies, is my cousin.

deletereply sanssouciblogs wrote on Feb 7, ’08 The movie can’t compare to the play–it was so raw and painful; I didn’t feel that as much watching the movie. It was one of his greats–they are all great. What can I say; it must be genetic! 😉

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Feb 8, ’08 I actually just saw the movie with a great cast: Dennis Quaid, and Andie Mcdowell.