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Released just one week before our first film, on July 30 - this screwball comedy film stars
Paul Rudd, as Tim Conrad, a Los Angeles businessman who is desperate for a promotion at his company.
When his boss, played devilishly by Bruce Greenwood, invites him to a dinner party - where
everyone is required to bring along the saddest, most pathetic idiot they can find - Conrad
decides to bring Stevel Carell's character, in hopes he'll be dumb enough to get him that
promotion. Right away, the plot seems unrealistic, overly convoluted, and at times, too dramatic
- making the bizarre situations and motivations of the characters even more baffling. Almost
every scene in "Dinner For Schmucks" feels like a bad sitcom - to the point where you
are literally embarrassed for the characters, and wonder why they don't just communicate
better in the first place, to avoid all the messes they've gotten themselves into. I also
found issue trying to root for a protagonist, who, for the most of the 114-minute run-time
is essentially exploiting the stupidity of an unknowing victim, who besides being awkward
and weird, is a really nice guy. Basic story problems aside, there is a lot to enjoy here,
Paul Rudd is perhaps at his best playing the straight-man, and Steve Carell is always fantastic
as the odd-ball in any film so their pairing makes for some really funny moments. Zach
Galifianakis, and Jemaine Clement round out the supporting cast with terrific, and equally
bizarre performances, that although are entirely unrealistic, do make for some of the film's
funniest moments. In closing, "Dinner for Schmucks" is full of "Unlikable, unrealistic
characters, but funny." Now that you've heard my review, lets see what you had to say in
the YouTube comments.
Okay, here's the Rate-O-Matic to show us how we both rated, "Dinner For Schmucks"... a
"GOOD" and a a "COOL". While this film had many flaws, and an unlikable protagonist...
it definitely still made me laugh at times, so I scored it a "6". Your reviews were much
more mixed, some people simply loved this movie, and others were less than impressed.
Your score averaged out to a "7".