Chances are directors Anthony and Joe Russo (“Welcome to Collinwood”) and freshman screenwriter Michael La Sieur didn’t have the 1942 Bette Davis classic “The Man Who Came to Dinner” in mind when the set to work on their comedy “You, Me and Dupree.” Pity, because the fitfully funny template for houseguests-who-refuse-to-leave comedies is already found fully formed inside that feature’s marrow. I cannot think of a better starting point, a more apropos place for the group of young filmmakers to find a set of solid ideas to build a rousing template for their own creation out of.

Instead, all the trio is left with is the deliriously ingratiating talents of Owen Wilson (“Wedding Crashers”) burning up the screen as Dupree, a 36-year-old slacker disrupting the lives of best friend Carl (Matt Dillon, “Crash”) and his newlywed wife Molly (“The Skeleton Key”). The man is a comedic fireball refusing to compromise even when the tired and over-familiar script does everything it can to undercut both him and the picture time and time again. Wilson is an electric entertainer, his energy and timing crucial for this thing to remain watchable (especially in the second half), and even though his performance isn’t anything new for the guy he’s still a multi-talented comic who’s a joy to watch.

Good thing, because the only thing joyful about the rest of “You, Me and Dupree” is when it’s over. This movie is nothing more than a classily cast disaster, a “Something About Mary” meets “Meet the Parents” train wreck we’ve seen too many times before. Self-serving condescending overprotective father (Michael Douglas, doing his “The In-Laws” shtick all over again) testing his son-in-law in increasingly vindictive ways? Check. Crazy, good-natured friend (Seth Rogan, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”) doling out advice even he doesn’t take the time to follow? Double Check. Ham-handed moments of quote-quote ‘drama’ like Dupree setting fire to the living room or Carl being late for one too many dinners? Check, Check and Check Mate, this comedy is down for the count.

No two ways about it, this movie is a catalogue of missed opportunities bordering on the titanic. Sure moments here and there struck a chord, but by the time things started to even come close to a conclusion I could have cared so little I might as well just have gone home and taken a nap. This thing doesn’t so much fall apart as never come together, the pieces connecting it all so far apart from one another they might as well be little rudderless sailboats drifting further and further out into a choppy sea of mediocrity.

It’s actually a little bit surprising this comedy misses the mark as widely as it does. The Russo brothers were two of the guys who helped make “Arrested Development” such a sensation, so finding them mishandling things here so is truly a major disappointment. But the film is slow, almost lethargic in its pacing, and it has the typical romantic comedy flaw of not knowing when to call it a day and wrap things up. It’s all so obvious, so run of the mill and by the numbers a person walking in after the opening credits could be forgiven for thinking they’d already seen it before.

And that’s of course the problem. It doesn’t matter how charming Dillon is or how much Hudson can light up the screen. It is inconsequential of Wilson is a gifted comedian who can make audiences burst out into fits of giggles just by arching an eyebrow. Audiences have seen this movie before, many times in fact, and I can’t help but think they’re going to notice. Now matter how you look at it, expect “You, Me and Dupree” to be evicted from theaters and shuffled to the DVD dustbin so quickly blinking and missing won’t even be an option.