Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

A farce about a guy who, in order to save his job, has to find someone his boss and friends can ridicule has a lot of laughs--more than we expected. It's based on The Dinner Game (Le dîner de cons - 1998), a wonderful, slightly meaner movie with a fabulous soundtrack, which won a bunch of awards in its native France, including two for best original screenplay. I highly recommend you see it before, after, even instead of this one--not that we hated the remake. We didn't. Paul Rudd, who plays the guy, Tim, more often plays the nerd or outcast (especially in the brilliant The Shape of Things (2003), as well as The Oh in Ohio (2006), Knocked Up (2007), Role Models, and I Love You, Man) than Steve Carell (I wrote about him in Date Night), who has made an art of it. Director/producer Jay Roach (directed Meet the Parents (2000), Meet the Fockers (2004), all three Austin Powers movies (1997, 99, 2002), and produced Borat (2006) and Brüno, among others) certainly knows comedy, and cringe comedy more than most. Relative unknowns David Guion and Michael Handelman adapted the screenplay from writer/director Francis Weber's for The Dinner Game and the critics have not been kind (only 50% on rottentomatoes). Watch for the bottle of wine near the end with F. Weber written on the label.

Not sure why they used the Yiddish word schmucks in the title. I don't remember any cast member uttering the word. Idiots or fools would have been more to the point. Or just stick to the original title, The Dinner Game. Perhaps it was an homage to Sacha Baron Cohen (title character in Borat and Brüno and producer of this one) who was originally slated to play Carell's part of Barry, and who would have been comfortable saying it.

There are plenty of things to enjoy here, however. As I write this, the movie is second (to Inception) in box office receipts for the week. Carell is funny, as always. Rudd is frustrated. Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) is truly hilarious. Kristen Schaal, one of Clement's co-stars on Conchords, has a good small part. Lucy Punch (wonderful in Being Julia (2004)) is perfect as the deranged blonde. Larry Wilmore (always had a good line or two on episodes of the series Accidentally on Purpose, was a writer/producer for The Bernie Mac Show, writer for In Living Color, and a consulting producer on many episodes of The Office, among many other credits) has a small part. Ron Livingston (best known as the lead in Office Space (1999), to which there is a stapler reference in an early scene, and as Berger, who broke up with Carrie on a post-it on the Sex and the City series) has his moments. Zach Galifianakis (Bored to Death, The Hangover, Up in the Air) will amuse many with his over-the-top character (can't say I loved it). Bruce Greenwood (who always spices up an ensemble, such as Capote (2005), I'm Not There (2007), and Star Trek, among many, and he won an award for best supporting actor in Being Julia) does his smug thing well, as usual. And the other "idiots" at the dinner are mostly recognizable character actors with long resumés (including Rick Overton as the guy with the big beard). Plus the stuffed mice settings are quite clever.

Low-brow and full of cringes, this is pretty funny, and if you go to lots of movies, you might as well see it. Or wait for the DVD. However you see it, wait for the bonus at the end.