Four very different Montreal university teachers gather at a rambling country house to prepare a dinner. Remy (married), Claude (a homosexual), Pierre (involved with a girlfriend) and Alain (a bachelor) discuss sex, the female body and their affairs with them. Meanwhile, their four female guests, Louise (Remy's wife of 15 years), Dominique (a spinster), Diane (a divorcée) and Danielle (Pierre's girlfriend) are spending the time at a downtown health gym. They also discuss sex, the female body and, naturally, men. Later in the evening, they finally meet at the country house and have dinner. A ninth guest, named Mario, who used to know Diane, drops in on the group for some talk and has a surprise of his own.

Directed by

Denys Arcand

Written by

Denys Arcand, Catherine Ruelle, Gabriel Arcand, Yvon Rivard

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Released

June 19, 1986

Runtime

1h 41m

Status

Released

Original title

Le Déclin de l'empire américain

Language

French

Countries

Canada

Studios

Corporation Image M & M, Societe Radio Cinema, ONF | NFB, Malofilm, La Societe Generale du Cinema du Quebec, Téléfilm Canada, Société Radio-Canada

Budget

$1,800,000

Box office

$30,000,000