Review: Dinner for Schmucks

logan fowler reviews this highly anticipated comedy…

When I heard of the reteaming of actors Paul Rudd and Steve Carell (the two previously starred together in Anchorman and the 40 Year Old Virgin), I was pretty excited. They are two of my favorite actors working today, and the storyline for Dinner for Schmucks looked pretty interesting.

Based on a French film called Le Diner De Cons (The Dinner Game), Dinner for Schmucks centers around Tim (Rudd), an up and coming executive looking to impress his girlfriend by trying to rise in ranks at his job. He finally gets his shot at a promotion, but there’s a catch. Tim is told that he must attend a dinner and bring a guest of a special variety; an idiot. Fates collide (literally) as Tim crashes his car into Barry (Carrel). Barry suffers no injury, but the two introduce themselves to each other, and Barry indirectly reveals that he may be the guest Tim needs to win the promotion. His first inkling is Barry’s hobby; he dabbles in mice taxidermy projects.

But Barry, while extremely mild mannered, is a force of nature Tim could never have dreamed of.

Dinner for Schmucks was a breath of fresh air in this very tame and boring movie summer (except for a few notable exceptions). While I wouldn’t say it was perfect, it provided a good dosage of laughs, and some memorable moments. However, I would honestly say that Steve Carell is basically playing Michael Scott from The Office, except with glasses and different hair. The evidence lies in the cringe worthy moments, which Michael Scott is more than well known for. However, he did have me laughing, and he did draw the most guffaws out of the crowd, so hey, it works.

Paul Rudd plays more of the straight man to Carell’s obnoxious buffoon, but he gets to inject his snarky-yet-likable personality into the role, something that he plays well. His Tim is clearly conflicted because he wants to get to the top, but at the same time, he has to embarrass a nice guy because of it. Despite the fact that I enjoy him in comedies, I would like to see Rudd in something a little different next time he shows up. Whatever the case, he did a great job.

The dinner near the end of the movie is a laugh riot, chock full of chaos. There is also a duel of sorts between Barry and Therman (Zach Galifianakis) who thinks he can control minds. This two comedic geniuses play well off each other, but I can’t help thinking that after the success of The Hangover, Galifianakis is appearing in a lot of projects and is risking overexposure. Hopefully that’s not the case, as Galfianakis has a meaty small part here and continues to make audiences giggle.

In conclusion, Dinner for Schmucks was a good time at the cinema. It is slow at a few points, and has a lot of “facepalm” moments, but otherwise, it was funny, had heart, and had me laughing, as well as a pretty full crowd for an opening Friday night at the movie. Movie for Schmucks? Hardly. You could find way worse.