Pierre Brochant is a French publisher who needs a guest to bring to a weekly dinner sponsored by his friends. His quest is not for an “ordinary” guest, however — as this weekly dinner is a “dinner of idiots”, where the group of wealthy and obnoxious yuppies engage in a competitive game to see who can bring the guest who is, undeniably, the biggest idiot.

Brochant knows his guest this week will take the prize. But when Brochant throws out his back and connot attend the dinner, his newest candidate befriends him and tries to not only comfort Brochant, but also fix is life which is in hopeless disarray. Brochant is touched and embarrassed. How could he have thought that Pignon was an idiot? Brochant is the idiot, and he offers to prove it by going to the next dinner as Pignon’s guest. The two men enjoy the moment … until Pignon inevitably makes his next stupid mistake, and the game begins again…