Dinner for Schmucks
I honestly didn’t see this coming. I haven’t seen the original French film, but even if I had, I don’t know if I would’ve expected what Jay Roach, Paul Rudd & Steve Carell had up their sleeves with this silly and sensational farce.
The premise is set up in the previews- Tim (Rudd) is a drone at an equity firm who may have found his way up to the 7th floor with the big boys. His boss (Bruce Greenwood) says he pretty much has it in the bag, and to give him his chance, he invites him to a monthly dinner he hosts. The guests are designated to find one “remarkable person” and bring them, so that they can be made fun of. Tim first says no- he considers it cruel…until he meets Barry (Carell).
I’ve never seen the original French farce- created by the same person who did “La Cage a Follies” (remade by Mike Nichols over here as “The Birdcage”)- but you don’t have to in order to appreciated Roach’s film. But here’s the important thing- listen to no one prone to spilling spoilers, ’cause this is a film that works largely because of what we don’t see coming from the trailers. Ultimately, this is about the anatomy of a friendship, with deception, hurt feelings, misunderstandings, redemption, and well, just plain wackiness thrown in. You think the previews hint at this film’s bizarre qualities…you have no idea.
Take Barry. We get hints of the type of person he is in the trailer. In the film, though, we get to know him. And you know what? I’d hang out with him in a heartbeat. Sure he might strain my relationship with my girlfriend or take things a little too literally or run out in traffic to capture a dead mouse (don’t ask), but at his core, he’s just a man who’s had to cope with pain and hurt and crawled into himself to survive. He’s a lot like Andy, Carell’s character in “The 40 Year-Old Virgin,” and that’s part of the appeal of this character. He’s completely true to himself, even if that makes him prime mocking material for others. This is Carell’s best film work since “Virgin” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” in which he also played a character whose life had beaten him down inside.
But Rudd’s Tim is also important to the film’s success. This is the type of character Rudd excels in- an average joe with a simple problem. See “Role Models” and “I Love You, Man” for further proof (“Knocked Up” also suffices as well). And Rudd gets a lot of mileage as someone whose life is turned upside down, right side up, and backasswards when Barry enters it, all the while showing us the insecurities that lead to his most embarrassing moments. And then when you throw in comic absurdities from the likes of Ron Livingston, Jemaine Clement, Zach Galifianakis, and Lucy Punch, well, you see Rudd at his “everyman” best.
This is Roach’s best big-screen comedy to date (not including his made-for-TV knockout “Recount”). The “Austin Powers” series? Never did anything for me. The “Meet the…” films? The first was terrific farce, but the second one was more of the same (and this holiday’s “Little Fockers?” eh…). Rudd reaches heights of comic absurdity and absurd heart here that honestly, I never would’ve seen coming. It does make me think, though, that we’re just getting started seeing his best come out.
