Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

Really Surprised!

Powerful

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The French writer/director Francis Veber is one of my favorite filmmakers...with exceptional films like "The Valet", "The Closet" and "The Dinner Game" (among others) to his credit. It's not surprising that Hollywood would want to remake one of his wonderful movies and cash in on his success. Too bad that they didn't trust Veber's wonderful script and changed it so much...dumbing it down in order, they assumed, to get a wider audience to enjoy the story.The basic movies are the same...but they are so very different as well. They both featuring a selfish man inviting who he perceives as a total idiot to a dinner party where all the sophisticated folks dig up the most annoying and stupid folks they can so they can laugh at them. The objects of their laughter THINK they're going to a nice party but there's really nothing nice about the folks running this godawful game. But so much is different beyond that....not just in the storyline but also in the way folks are portrayed. Veber's direction was generally very subtle...and nothing about this American version is subtle and it often chooses the low road instead....ruining, in my opinion, the story. Now I should point out that although the film occasionally irritated me and overall was a bust, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law loved the movie and laughed at many of the parts I hated most. I am NOT saying they are wrong or stupid....but they didn't see the French film and I wonder how much they would have enjoyed "Dinner for Schmucks" had they seen it as well. Overall, a huge misfire...and I hope people realize that the original is wonderful and clever.

This movie sucked. End of review. No stars given. Complete waste of time.

Dinner for Schmucks (2010): Dir: Jay Roach / Cast: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Jemaine Clement, Zach Galifianakis, Lucy Punch: Hilarious comedy not so much about idiots, but about those making such accusations. Paul Rudd wishes to move ahead in his job but first he must attend an annual dinner where he must bring an idiot for the amusement of the guests. He encounters Steve Carell who dresses up dead mice for scenery pieces. One of director Jay Roach's best and funniest. He previously introduced the world to the antics of Austin Powers. Carell is a hoot as the unpredictable nerd who lives to laugh but often causes havoc. Part of this is in no due part to his e-mail response on Rudd's computer to an intimidating ex-girlfriend. What Carell teaches us here is done in form by accepting who he is and whom others believe he is and running with it because in the end, he is the one who laughs loudest. Rudd is very good and a terrific foil to Carell's antics but his concluding decision is obvious. Among unique supporting players is Jemaine Clement, an exhibitionist laying claim to Rudd's girlfriend, and Zach Galifianakis as a corrupt hypnotist who will meet his match in a very strange way at the dinner. Lucy Punch is funny in a brief but pivotal scene as Rudd's stalking ex-girlfriend whom Carell makes contact with, resulting in brawl. This dinner is complete with a variety of strange looking characters that are suppose to be the brunt of a joke but we are left admiring their creative get-ups and egos. Very creative and unique comedy about judging others, and other such appetizers. Score: 9 / 10

SPOILERS Dinner for Schmucks is one of the best comedies I've seen in recent years, possibly since Austin Powers. It's funny without getting as crude and disgusting as other recent funny comedies like Borat, Team America, Harold & Kumar, and Super Bad. The characters are likable with their funny flaws, and Steve Carell performs his role better than anything I've seen from Adam Sandler, Will Farrell or any of the other current lead comics. Carell plays a not so bright, nerdy amateur taxidermist who makes dioramas featuring stuffed mice. But you like him because he's very talented at his hobby. Paul Rudd befriends him with an ulterior motive, to invite him to the title dinner to impress his boss - but humiliating him in the process. But even before the dinner, Carell, trying to helpful, creates a series of misunderstandings that mess up Rudd's relationships. This makes up the bulk of the movie and is very funny, if typical comedic misunderstandings, well staged with good comic timing. SPOILER: But the dinner finally comes and that's the outstanding part, as we see the schmucks invited really are better people than the snobs who invited them, just ordinary people with some extraordinary talents -- but intensely funny. This is one to watch over again every couple years.