Dinner for Schmucks
Directed by Jay Roach
Spyglass Entertainment
A remake of the French film Le Dîner de Cons, Dinner for Schmucks is headlined by Paul Rudd and Steve Carell. However, it’s the eclectic minor characters that push the film beyond a cookie cutter buddy film.
Tim (Paul Rudd) is a stock analyst for Fender Financial who wants that top floor office. Though a good guy, Tim is flawed and thinks his girlfriend Julie won’t marry him until he gets a promotion at work. While his company is trying to figure out how to dispose of radioactive equipment from the now-failing Müeller armaments business, Tim sees his chance.
In an attempt to catch the eye of company founder Lance Fender, Tim announces that he has made contact with the vacationing Swiss millionaire Müeller (amusingly played by Little Britain’s David Walliams) and that Fender Financial should manage his private portfolio instead of selling the company.
Impressed by his move, Fender invites Tim to his monthly “Dinner for Winners.” Ron Livingston (as a polar opposite of his laid back Peter Gibbons in Office Space) and Larry Wilmore (just as cocksure as he is on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) are regulars at the dinners and explain that each person has to bring an idiot to the dinner so that Fender can make fun of them. At the end of the night, the biggest idiot gets a nice trophy and the person who invited them is on their way up the corporate ladder. Bring the biggest idiot, they tell Tim, and that promotion is his. The catch: the guest can’t know the real purpose of their invite.
Tim hesitant because he is the typical Paul Rudd character who is morally-ambiguous-until-
Later that day, Tim bumps into Müeller and his wife. When they learn his girlfriend is in art, they insist on meeting them for Saturday brunch. Riding the high, Tim tells Julie about the brunch and that he’s changed his mind about skipping the dinner. Julie takes issue with dinner and, realizing that she doesn’t really know who Tim is, storms out. As she leaves, Barry, not realizing he’s a day early, swings by the apartment ready for dinner. Tim tells him the dinner is tomorrow and to leave. Of course, Barry doesn’t and the film takes on a Meet the Parents feel (also directed by Roach). In short, anything that can go wrong for Tim does.
While Tim is in the other room, Barry responds to a sexually charged IM on Tim’s computer and tells the sender, a Darla, to come over. Unbeknownst to Barry, Darla is a one-night stand from years ago and has been stalking Tim. She doesn’t know Tim’s address until Barry gives it to her. Tim flips out when he realizes that both Darla and a cooled off Julie will be arriving at any moment.
Barry sets out for the apartment lobby with a printout of a photo of Darla’s rear end (she sent it as an IM; Barry printed it just in case) so he can identify her and tell her to leave. Unfortunately, he mistakes Julie’s rear for Darla’s and tells her she should leave because Tim’s girlfriend will be showing up at any moment. Then Darla shows up. When Tim rejects her, she tries to make him jealous by coming on to Barry. Barry doesn’t quite get it and the seduction scene quickly morphs into Fatal Attraction meets Austin Powers.
Tim suspects that Julie will run to a ranch owned by Kieran (Jemain Clement of The Flight of the Conchords), the sexually charged, animal loving artist she works for as a curator. (What does animal loving mean? You have to see his sexually charged, animal loving art to get it. And you will get it.) Barry convinces Tim he can use his IRS contact to find the address of the ranch. Reluctantly, Tim agrees to visit the local IRS office. Barry’s contact and, as it turns out, rival, Therman (ridiculously played by Zach Galifianakis), is a self-proclaimed mind control expert who asks too high a price for the information.
After a botched brunch, Tim gives up on the dinner and promotion and has a falling out with Barry. With his life in shambles, Tim reluctantly attends the dinner after Fender calls him to let him know they are waiting on him. Tim is surprised to see that Barry is already there and that he is the life of the party.
Dinner is finally served. The “idiots” include a vulture trainer, a beard growing champion, a medium who communicates with dead animals, a blind fencer and a ventriloquist (Jeff Dunham) and his, um, wife. Things are looking good for Tim until a mystery guest arrives….
Roach tries to create a sense of drama: Will Tim’s moral epiphany happen before Barry’s feelings get hurt? Will Julie ever speak to him again? Will Fender and his gang realize that they are the real idiots? He falls short because all you care about is that eclectic group of guests. The winner of a ridiculous “mental shootout” between Barry and the mystery guest walks away with the cup. Dinner starts to wind down…until the blind fencer feels threatened.
While the film is funny, it’s also formulaic and jokes are often telegraphed well in advance. (You can’t serve an animal medium lobster and not expect her to channel it.) As long as you’re not expecting some sort of redemption story, it works in the end.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
That's not a review, you've just described the movie scene by scene with a weak opinion on the end!