Upright and involving for a broad comedy, Dinner for Schmucks never strays away from the focus of the material nor does it neglects its own guests. But in simple terms, it’s just damn funny – about business sharks who invite remarkably stupid people to dinner to show-off and humiliate (don’t worry schmucks lovers, the humiliation is tamed). You will experience laughter and chortles, but very few yuks, and no bad yuks if that. How many comedies these days lose faith in their own appeal and decide to throw in something disgusting to get your attention? Many do, but not this one.
If there’s nothing disgusting in the movie than there’s something at least annoying. But Steve Carell is supposed to be annoying in a socially unaccustomed way, and Paul Rudd is the navy blue suit professional who has to endure this pest – the odd couple both get girl trouble, too. Carell (last shined in “Date Night”) is worth the millions he gets paid, he is one of the last movie stars who is not vain, and he takes risks to look lame. Rudd (last shined in “I Love You, Man”) for awhile looked like he had limited appeal, but he keeps surprising with his likeable everyman range.
Speaking of shining, Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Concords”), Ron Livingston (“Office Space”) and Zach Galifianakis (“The Hangover”) are among the co-stars who milk laughs in the spotlight. Of those three, only one of them is a climax guest schmuck. There’s also an English actor named David Walliams (yes with an “A,” not an “I” in the last name spelling), who plays a Swiss tycoon built like a skier with a Caribbean tan, who is also a natural magnet to comedy. There is no logical math in the business of film criticism, but if you add all these guys up you have about a hundred laughs.
The film is a tad cutesy with Carell as a mouse taxidermist, but then again, the dead mice get fabulous diorama sets as playgrounds (but has this ignorant dweeb really ever heard of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream?”). And Rudd has the cute girlfriend, an artist type played by Stephanie Szotstak (“The Devil Wears Prada”, who is easily susceptible to jealousy. Can she accept an apology without running away first? She’s cute in a luxurious French dessert way, and Rudd and her together look like they could squeeze some hugs together, but are they really the prototype for a modern American couple? You have to root for them to reconcile in a facile, kidding way.
As the rich arrogant mastermind, Bruce Greenwood (“Star Trek,” as Christopher Pike) brings the right amount of high society evil – he dislikes well-read people who think and respond too thoughtfully. Rudd is the guy who plays along in gale in the hope to get a promotion. His better conscience is telling him to play but play fair – let Carell attend but escape with dignity. Lucy Punch is also another whacked character, a daffy stalker blonde in tall platform heels, who gets in the way of both Rudd’s relationship with his girlfriend and with the signing of the Swiss tycoon as a client.
What you may be wondering about is the dinner. Well, the movie takes awhile building up to it but keeps you entertained before the main course. Slow patches are subjective to the viewer, but I didn’t feel one until about the one hour mark. Until then, director Jay Roach (“Meet the Parent”) creates one amok and social faux pas after another. We are occupied, the whole movie is an unceasing parade of dweeb behavior that is embarrassingly funny, so much that it could inspire furious (frustrated at these idiots) laughter.
Go to the official site at http://www.dinnerforschmucks.com/
Grade: B
No comments:
Post a Comment