Bon appétit! Comic 'Dinner for Schmucks' a (mostly) satisfying meal
"Dinner for Schmucks," the new comedy starring Paul Rudd and Steve Carell, happily treads the middle ground.
That doesn't make the movie bad - it's actually quite funny - but it does qualify as something of a missed opportunity, especially considering the talent involved.
The film, based on a French movie called "The Dinner Game," pairs Rudd and Carell as a classic cinematic odd couple. Rudd plays Tim, an affable everyman trying to rise up the ranks at his Los Angeles private equity firm, and Carell plays Barry, a bumbling but good-hearted IRS agent who in his spare time likes to re-create great works of art and historical moments using dead mice.
The two meet when Tim is trying to land a promotion that would move him upstairs with the firm's heavy hitters and, he thinks, convince his beautiful girlfriend, Julie, to marry him.
For a second it looks like the promotion is his, but then his oily boss, Lance Fender, informs Tim that he must first attend a special dinner Fender hosts each year at his mansion. Executives from the firm have to bring idiots as their guests - the bigger the idiot, the better. Fender and his minions will then spend the evening mocking their clueless guests, and Fender will hand out a prize to the evening's biggest loser.
Deep down, Tim is repelled by the tradition's cruelty, but he really wants that promotion. What to do?
Enter Barry Speck.
Tim hits Barry with his car while driving home one night, and immediately suspects he might have found his idiot.
There's the dorky haircut, for starters, and the excited way Barry snaps a picture of Tim's car. ("I've never been hit by a Porsche before!" he squeals.) The clincher comes when Barry shows Tim his catalog of "mouse-terpieces" - dead and stuffed mice he's dressed to look like the subjects of famous paintings.
Yes, Tim has hit the jackpot. But can he really subject Barry to the humiliation of Fender's dinner?
The first act of "Dinner for Schmucks" is well-crafted and funny. Rudd and Carell show solid chemistry, and they benefit from sparkling supporting work by Ron Livingston ("Office Space") as a cocky Fender executive and Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords") as a pompous artist who's hot for Tim's girlfriend. (The film also has a hilarious title sequence, in which we see Barry lovingly creating his works of mice-art.)
The film sags, though, when director Jay Roach turns his attention away from Fender's dinner and focuses instead on Tim's relationship with Julie. In a series of increasingly preposterous (and decreasingly funny) gags, Barry breaks the couple apart by committing one bumbling gaffe after another. The humor rarely rises above sitcom level, and the bickering between Barry and Tim starts to grate.
The film recovers in its final act, the highlight of which is the dinner scene at Fender's house. There are plenty of laughs here, especially during an idiot-fight between Barry and his boss, Therman, played by Zach Galifianakis. But I was hoping Roach would really let loose and deliver some "Revenge of the Nerds"-type comeuppance for Fender and his acolytes; instead, Roach keeps things relatively safe and tame.
And that's my main quibble with "Dinner." At times, it seems like the film wants to rank among the better comedies by Judd Apatow or the Farrelly brothers. But just when it seems ready to take off for those heights, Roach pulls it back down to earth. It's a shame, because a cast this talented could have produced a comedy for the ages.
That complaint aside, I did enjoy my time at this "Dinner." If the menu looks at all appealing to you, I'd say make your reservation now.
<p class="factboxheadblack">"Dinner for Schmucks"</p>
<p class="News">★★★</p>
<p class="News"><b>Starring:</b> Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Bruce Greenwood, Stephanie Szostak, Ron Livingston, Jemaine Clement</p>
<p class="News"><b>Directed by:</b> Jay Roach</p>
<p class="News"><b>Other:</b> A Paramount/Dreamworks release. Rated PG-13 for language, sequences of crude and sexual content and partial nudity. 109 minutes</p>