MOVIE OF THE WEEK: DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Lucy Punch, Jemaine Clement, Stephanie Szostak, Zach Galifinakis, Larry Wilmore, Ron Livingston, Kristin Schall, Bruce Greenwood, David Walliam, Lucy Davenport, Nick Kroll and Andrea Savage
WRITER: David Guion and Michael Handelman; Francis Veber (screenplay of the French motion picture Le Diner de Cons, by which the film is inspired)
DIRECTOR: Jay Roach
WEB SITE: www.dinnerforschmucks.com
THE PLOT: An American-ized take on the French comedy Le Diner de Cons helmed by director Jay Roach (the Austin Powers and Meet The Parents series), Dinner for Schmucks stars Paul Rudd as Tim. An employee at Fender Financial , Tim long dreams of getting off the sixth floor and moving up to the seventh with the rest of the big executives like Williams (Larry Wilmore) and Caldwell (Ron Livingston). And when an opportunity to impress the company namesake (Bruce Greenwood) pops up, Tim jumps at the chance.
After all, this could be his big chance to impress the woman he hopes to one day marry, his live-in, art curator girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) and stop her from one day succumb to the charms of Kieran (Jemaine Clement), the abstract artist she is currently working with.There's just one complication stopping Tim's dreams from coming true: He has to find an idiot to bring to a dinner his boss is hosting -and the employee who brings the biggest idiot will walk away with the prize.
Enter Barry (Steve Carell), an IRS employee with a penchant for mouse taxidermy ... And re-creating historic works of art with it.
After fate (and a lack of road vision due to being distracted while driving) throws Barry into his path, Tim thinks he's found his golden ticket to his new promotion. Unfortunately, what Tim doesn't realize is that the reason Barry is perfect for the dinner is also the reason he's going to throw Tim's life into complete and utter chaos.
THE TAKE: Schmucks (isn't that just fun to type?!) is funny. Carell and company throw themselves into the ludicrous nature of the situation well, "going there" more often than not for the effect of a big laugh. There's just one teeny tiny problem, though, that prevents the film from being better.
Even by comedy standards, too many scenarios are a bit too illogical (Barry cannot be as dumb as he is and survive as well as he has and/or not get punched in the face) and Tim clearly could prevent some of the ensuing chaos by realizing how to reel Barry in better. There are times when Paul Rudd's character makes a face that says "I should stop him, but let's see where this goes even though there's a 99.9% it will go terribly awry."
Throw in the fact that some scenes go on a bit too long (yes, it's true - Zach Galifinakis is a funny, funny fellow ... Now let's quit with the overuse and rambling clearly improved scenes, shall we?) and Schmucks sometimes overstays its welcome. Then again, the film is more affable than it is annoying as a whole, so if you enjoy films like this summer's earlier release Get Him to the Greek, you'll find Schmucks better than most. Now, you may be saying 'Isn't a comedy supposed to be a bit wacky?" Of course it is - but anything in excess isn't usually a good thing - especially when it makes the events in Galifinakis' biggest hit to date (The Hangover) seem reasonable by comparison.
*NEW!* PARTING SHOT: While Dinner for Schmucks offers up plenty of appetizing laughs, you'll be best served if you watch the film not expecting to get a full meal.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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