I HAVE MOVED

Hello, everyone. Thank you very much for reading CinemaSlants these few years. I have moved my writing over to a new blog: The Screen Addict. You can find it here: http://thescreenaddict.com/.

I hope you follow me to my new location! You can find an explanation for the move on that site now or on the CinemaSlants Facebook page.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Dinner for Schmucks (Review)



A lot of audiences will probably like Dinner for Schmucks, the American remake of the French comedy The Dinner Game. Nay, perhaps even love it. Why not? It’s a reasonably enjoyable film with several funny moments, but for me it never adds up to an excellent whole. This is no fault of the actors, who do everything they can, but the material here is incredibly predictable and routine. In fact, were it not for the cast, this film might have been just plain dire. For the first few scenes I barely even cracked a smile, and I was beginning to worry. However, at the exact moment I was about to give up Steve Carell swooped in to save the day, or rather, he crashed in.

Ten minutes in you know EXACTLY where this movie is going. You know what the plot is going to be, the twists that will develop, and the resolution that will come of it. That is fine, it just depends how much you make me laugh, and just about the only person that did it for me here is Steve Carell, and he is terrific as always. In fact, Carell is just hilarious to look at in this film, and whenever he is onscreen is it impossible not to smile. Here he creates his most lovable moron this side of Michael Scott. In fact, Michael Scott would make fun of this guy.

Carell plays Barry Speck, a taxidermist who spends his time making art out of dead mice. He recreates famous paintings, creates landscapes, and at one point it is shown that he has recreated moments from his own life. What makes Carell so great in this film is that he is focused on creating a character first, and laughs second. There are moments when we are taken back into this character’s past, and we believe them because this is not merely Carell making funny faces, but Barry Speck himself. Words cannot describe what a joy it is to see Carell onscreen in anything he does, and here he saves the film from disaster, and actually makes it a relatively joyful experience.

The basic plot is this: Paul Rudd’s Tim Conrad aspires to be promoted within the ranks of Fender Financial, and it becomes clear that to do so he must attend an annual dinner held by his boss, Lance Fender himself. The rules of the dinner are as such: Find the biggest moron you can and bring them to the dinner. Whoever brings the best moron wins first prize, and if Tim is able to win, the promotion may be next.

Needless to say, the obligatory Paul Rudd movie girlfriend, played by Stephanie Szostak (who has real trouble with an American accent), disapproves of this dinner. This leads her to become quite upset with Tim, which sets into motion a series of misunderstandings that makes her believe Tim is cheating on her. This character of Julie fits the definition of shoehorned, and we’ve seen it a million times before. Every Paul Rudd movie in recent memory has included a subplot about him and his significant other going through a series of difficult trials only to end up together at the end (Role Models, I Love You, Man). Do they make up at the end of Dinner for Schmucks? I’ll never tell. All I can say is that here is the first time it rings false, perhaps because Szostak is far less convincing than an Elizabeth Banks or Rashida Jones.

This film seemed to simply provide the cast with a premise, and let them go to work. Paul Rudd is impossible not to like in most movies, and here that continues, despite the fact he always seems to play the same character. Steve Carell, as I’ve mentioned before, is sublime as the gleefully idiotic Barry. The supporting cast is adequate if not extraordinary, the lone standout performance amongst them being Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) as shock artist Kieran Vollard. Many will compare this performance to Russell Brand’s work as Aldous Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek, and they would be right. They hit a lot of the same notes. However, these notes are quite good and I was able to forgive the eerie similarity.

The other freaks at the dinner are played by the likes of Zach Galifanakis, Octavia Spencer, Rick Overton and Jeff Dunham. (By the way, Dunham must have the best agent in Hollywood, for he has fourth billing on the poster but appears in the film for barely 10 minutes and contributes next to nothing. Yes, I understand he is one of America’s most popular comedians.) The dinner scenes are incredibly broad, but there are some good laughs to be had, though not a great many.

The film was directed by Jay Roach, who is one of the more successful comedy directors going. He directed all three Austin Powers movies, as well as Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. With the exception of the HBO political drama Recount, he has specialized in mainstream Hollywood comedy. He returns here with a solid entry, though the performers are far better than the material. That is why I couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed with Dinner for Schmucks, despite being a good time. When you get Paul Rudd and Steve Carell in a movie, I expect great things. In the past they have starred together in Anchorman and The 40 Year-Old Virgin, one very good comedy, the other great. This is a not insignificant step backwards for the duo, but if you see it, you’ll probably come out smiling.

Rating: (out of 4)

No comments:

Post a Comment