The motto of this movie is “Everything Happens For a Reason” which is said repeatedly by Steve Carrel’s character Barry after he hears it from a wise man who came up with the saying…Tim Wagner played by Paul Rudd. I’ve always believed in this saying and I do even more now because I originally went to go to a screening of Despicable Me (which also stars Steve Carrel) but the line was ridiculously long so I decided to see this ridiculous film instead and to be honest, I probably would have never gone to see this movie if that didn’t happen. So you see, everything happens for a reason because I really really liked Dinner for Schmucks!
Based on the 1998 French film, “The Dinner Game,” Dinner for Schmucks is about a 6th-floor guy, Tim Wagner, trying to get promoted to the 7th floor. He makes a big move in a business meeting and was put in his new office except he didn’t get the promotion quite yet. His boss invites him to a dinner that the top guys in the company have every month, a dinner where they each invite one extraordinary person. In reality, they’re very extraordinary…they’re idiots…it’s a dinner for idiots. “That’s messed up” is the reaction each character has when they hear about this dinner for the first time but what can you do? It’s a boys club and Tim wants in…he wants that promotion.
Tim’s girlfriend also thinks it’s “messed up” but doesn’t want him to go through with it. Because of this, their relationship begins to topple but because of the idiot who Tim finds, their relationship starts to crumble. But remember, everything happens for a reason. After Julie (Stephanie Szostak), Tim’s girlfriend, told him not to do it, Tim tried to get out of the dinner but while doing this, happenchance brings him to Barry (Steve Carrel) and the movie begins. Up until this point, the movie was kind of stale…it takes about 20-30 minutes of setup just to get to the character who makes the movie: Barry. Once he’s in the picture, the laughs don’t stop. Even though you begin to just want them to get to the dinner, you start enjoying the back and forth chemistry and crazy antics between Barry and Tim which make up the meat of the movie. (Steve Carrel and Paul Rudd have also filmed “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” together.
Barry (Steve Carrel) and Tim (Paul Rudd) at the Dinner for Schmucks
This is the kind of movie where you can’t believe you’re watching the movie. It’s totally ridiculous and just keeps getting weirder. You think you know the story and formula that this movie will use, but it actually keeps surprising the audience and adds twists to every common day situation. Dinner for Schmucks comes from the director Jay Roach who has also directed the Austin Powers and Meet the Parents series so you can get a feel of how this movie will be. Events do go from bad to worse for the protagonist Tim, but not in the way you think. Steve Carrel plays the character of Barry so well that you forget you’re watching Steve Carrel. To me, that’s amazing because he has such an outrageous charismatic personality that you see in other shows and movies like “The Office” and “The 40 Year-Old Virgin”. In Dinner for Schmucks, however, he takes it to another level and truly drives the movie.
You may need to be in a certain mood to watch this movie. You have to cut back, let loose, and just laugh, otherwise you’ll probably think the movie is just stupid. The movie is stupid…it’s stupid crazy and just off the wall but that’s why it’s so funny. I know I just said it’s stupid, but the movie is smart. It knows how to be just dumb enough to get the laughs but not ostracize the audience. The things Barry says alongside Therman (Zach Galifianakis) and Kieran (Jemaine Clement) who also gives a great comedic performance will leave you laughing and thinking of Brain Control. They begin with saying something familiar but then take it in a whole other unexpected direction.
Tags: Dinner for Schmucks, Jay Roach, Jemaine Clement, Paul Rudd, Stephanie Szostak, Steve Carell, Zach Galifianakis
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
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