His breakout movie "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and multiple seasons of TV's "The Office" qualify comic Steve Carell as the go-to guy for portraying lonely, middle-aged men. In director Jay Roach's "Dinner for Schmucks," a riotously funny remake of the 1998 French comedy hit "Le Dîner de Cons" ("The Dinner of Idiots"), about a contest to see who can invite the biggest idiot to a dinner party, Carell puts a nutty spin on his "40-Year-Old Virgin" character as "Schmucks'" social misfit Barry. Carell's dead-on slapstick results in the biggest laughs since his days as a "Daily Show" correspondent. His clunky teeth and nerdy wardrobe also pay homage to Jerry Lewis; perfect since "Schmucks" is a popular French import.
Tim (Paul Rudd) is a lowly analyst aching for an executive promotion at the L.A. investment firm where he works. His prospects look good after landing a new, wealthy client. Now Tim has to prove he's one of the guys by participating in his boss' "Dinner for Extraordinary People," a contest among executive staff to see who can bring the biggest idiot to dinner so the rest can ridicule them. The catch is that the idiots cannot know the true meaning behind their invitation.
Tim considers skipping the dinner at the request of his pretty girlfriend (Stephanie Szostak) until he runs into Barry (Carell), a lonely IRS worker whose hobby is stuffing and dressing up mice in elaborate recreations of famous artworks. Tim sees Barry as the clincher for his coveted promotion but the laughs pile up as the wannabe exec sees his stylish life quickly unraveling.
Ever since graduating to comic leads in the enjoyable "Role Models" and "I Love You, Man," Paul Rudd has turned out to be the ultimate straight man for buddy comedies. Deadpan with just the right touch of smug behavior, Rudd is likable enough to gain much-needed sympathy for Tim and make audiences want him to get the promotion no matter what.
Genius Zach Galifianakis shows up as Barry's IRS supervisor and provides "Schmucks" with a crazed comic climax like few movies.
Kristen Schaal makes the most of her brief scenes as Tim's cynical personal assistant and British actress Lucy Punch (soon to be seen in Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger") is slapstick magic as a crazy one-night-stand who returns to make Tim's life miserable.
Standing tall in the center of this comic chaos is Carell who delivers an impressive one-two summer punch as the voice star of the hilarious 3D animation "Despicable Me" and his inspired take on the clumsy nerd in "Dinner for Schmucks." Carell is so funny as Barry that it's hard to imagine that Sacha Baron Cohen was originally attached to star in the film.
Roach rises above the connect-the-dots comedy of "Meet the Parents" and the "Meet the Fockers" by returning to the screwball realm of his "Austin Powers" movies. If there's one major complaint, it's that French director Francis Veber's film enjoyed a cynical twist at the end that felt perfect. Unfortunately, screenwriters David Guion and Michael Handelman opt for a cliché happy ending. Perhaps that's par for any Hollywood translation.
Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
Genre: Comedy
Release Date: July 30, 2010 (Showtimes and Tickets)
Distributor: DreamWorks Pictures/Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Cast: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Jemaine Clement, Jeff Dunham, Bruce Greenwood, Ron Livingston, Stephanie Szostak
Screenwriter: David Guion, Michael Handelman
Director: Jay Roach
Cinematographer: Jim Denault
Editor: Alan Baumgarten, Jon Poll
Producers: Spyglass Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks SKG Running Time: 114 minutes
