Feb
10
Have you ever had that feeling of wanting to laugh at a comedic movie yet somehow the laugh gas is having a hard time coming in? If not, then Dinner for Schmucks will do you that favor. I applaud Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers) for attempting to do a remake of the French farce Le Diner Des Cons or The Dinner Game, it’s a tough job to make people laugh with a film, but if it was the comedy he was planning to improve, no Oscar’s or any award can be given; although, this is not to say that the movie was totally screwed.
The basic vindictive premise of Dinner for Schmucks, which isn’t really that funny, revolves around an uncanny dinner set up once a month by the executives of a financial company, Fender, where invited employees must bring along someone who is nothing short of a nincompoop as a guest. Through the course of the dinner, the executives and the invitees ridicule and scorn these top rank idiots who are made to display their “special talent” or quality stupidity, for entertainment. Before the dinner ends, an award goes to the most impressive idiot for being “so special”. Takes the title literally doesn’t it?
Unless you are total fans of the two main stars of this movie, Paul Rudd (I Love You Man) and Steve Carell (Date Night) who are both masters of deadpan comedy, you will find that their roles didn’t really bring out the best in them. Along with the main premise of the movie, Paul Rudd plays the character of Tim Conrad, a “sixth floor employee” of Fender Financial Institution, who is caught between his fiancée Julie (Stephanie Szostak) and his most awaited promotion. To be promoted, however, requires him to participate in the aforementioned dinner, something Julie resented. Fate steps in and Tim gets a literally accidental encounter with Barry (Steve Carrell), a rodent maniac who is in the beyond section of stupidity. One day before the dinner, Barry tags along with Tim and proves hell existed on Earth.
Paul Rudd’s character did not make it to funnyville in Dinner for Schmucks, there again wasting Paul Rudd’s talent. He was transformed into a common love life-struggling, promotion-seeking regular employee which I think isn’t the best role for him. Although I have to commend Steve Carrell for his flawless and natural performance in this movie, his role as Barry was most of the time annoying and obnoxious because of the fact that he made Tim’s life miserable and hell-ridden. Instead of laughing all the time, which was my expectation, it somehow made me feel taken aback by his constant annoying role. The comedy on his part got swallowed whole by incongruity. Maybe the filmmakers wanted to portray Barry as a lovable, feel-sorry idiot, and if that’s the case, then they were successful a little too late when the true intentions of the executives for the dinner have been revealed. Humour-wise, it just wasn’t enough.
But Dinner for Schmucks is not at all that ridiculous. I have to commend the participation of Zack Galifianakis in this movie. He appears as a mind-controlling dufus who then becomes the rival of Barry in Major League Stupidity. He brought more comedy than the two main characters combined. And his out-of-this-world fight scene with Barry during the dinner was the funniest bit of the movie; it was hilarious! Aside from this hillbilly combat and admiring Barry’s “mousterpieces”, the rest didn’t live up to the expectations.
Overall, I’d give it a score almost halfway between “Oh Crap!” and “Bravo!” with the former having a tighter grasp.
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