Opens July 30, 2010 | Runtime: 1 hr. 50 min.
PG-13 for sequences of crude and sexual content, some partial nudity and language and sexual content
Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, together again (they were both in The 40 Year Old Virgin and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.) This could either be really really funny or really really stupid. Sorry, I have to go for it:
This movie is Schmucking Funny!!
(I did apologize in advance.)
From the minute the opening credits first appear to the bonus scene after the last end credit has rolled, there is just non-stop laughs. A regular laughapalooza (I’m trademarking that!) It’s wacky and zany and crazy, yet plausible. You can see how this series of very unfortunate events could happen to almost anyone (well, except for the initial dinner party part. I really hope grown men aren’t having these kinds of dinner parties. I would expect that of frat boys, but not high powered business men!)
In case you’re unfamiliar with the premise, Tim (Rudd) is trying desperately to get a big promotion. His boss says that he’s SO CLOSE, but he has to bring an “extraordinarily gifted” person to a special dinner party. And by extraordinarily gifted, he means idiot. Tim at first tries to bail, but then quite literally runs into Barry (Carell). His special gift – he creates Mouseterpieces, masterpieces recreated using the carcasses of dead mice (many of which are shown in the opening credits.)
Hilarity ensues.
Carell could have played this as literally just a dumb schmuck. But just when his idiocy seems beyond redemption, he gives you a quiet, sweet revelation that just makes you want to give him a hug, take him home and fix him a nice cup of hot cocoa with mini marshmallows. Well played, Carell, well played!
Rudd is playing basically the same guy he does in I Love You, Man. And as the saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” He is the perfect foil to Carell’s craziness.
The scenes with the modern artist are freakishly accurate! If you’ve ever been to a modern art museum (I’ve been to the Guggenheim) then you know what I’m talking about!
The casting was perfect. Everyone seems to push their roles right up to the edge of over-the-top, but never quite go over the cliff. You can see where they were intentionally trying to crack each other up, a couple of them almost lose it in a few scenes. I credit the editing with not letting that happen!
My overall review: perfect date night movie. Your guy will LOVE Rudd and Carell. And there are plenty of jokes for the ladies too!
Dinner for Schmucks official movie website
Thanks for the review! This is another one I want to see. In addition to loving both Rudd and Carrell (who doesn’t?), I have seen both Zach Galifianakis and Larry Wilmore in the commercials, and I find both of them terribly funny.
This may just have to go to the top of the list.
I recently watched the French version of this movie (The Dinner Guest) on Netflix. It’s funny.
Thanks for the review , the commercials had me interested now the review has me convinced to see it.
I’d like to add that my parents saw it last night and are STILL laughing about it this morning. They LOVED it!!
So now you have a multi-generational review! 😀
Tiffany, that is good to know. Multi-generational crowd pleasers are sometimes hard to come by…
I will definately see it for the cast alone. And so I can stare at Paul Rudd!
Tiffany I am still laughing over the Schmucking funny line! 🙂 I definitely want to go see this. Has a lot of my fav actors in it!
This is a great movie. Very smart. I got it as a gift for a teenager who just fell in love with it. He totally ‘got it’.