The crass title is a clear indication of what one can expect from Dinner for Schmucks. ‘Mean-spirited’ and ‘annoying’ are two terms that spring to mind more readily than ‘comedy’ when describing it. ‘Interminable’ might be another. At nearly two hours, Dinner had long gone cold before the final credits brought relief. I should hasten to add that while I remained in stupefied silence throughout, others around me managed the occasional laugh so either I have no sense of humour (I do) or audiences’ tastes continue to decline.
I sensed the film was in trouble from the opening titles. It was a protracted scene involving the creation of an elaborate diorama featuring stuffed mice. Its relevance to what follows is tenuous at best. That the hobby of the central “Schmuck”, Barry (Steve Carell) is recreating historical scenes using stuffed rodents feels more like an excuse to work in these “Mousterpieces” than their involvement in the story. Indeed, much of the movie feels cobbled together.
Dinner for Schmucks is based on the French film Le dîner de cons, which roughly translates to Dinner for Idiots, although it was more sensitively titled The Dinner Game for English-speaking audiences. The screenwriters here are rather less tactful. Without having seen the original, it’s impossible to make comparisons, but I suspect it had to have more going for it than this otherwise few would have seen the merit in remaking it.
Events begin with Tim (Paul Rudd) trying to fill the shoes of a recently fired colleague at the private equity company he works for. When he boldly pitches a proposal to his boss Lance Fender (Bruce Greenwood), he’s rewarded with an invitation to attend a special dinner that Fender regularly hosts at his palatial home. The one stipulation is that all those invited are to bring along the quirkiest person they can find in order that the others can “make fun of them.”
Cue Tim crashing his Porsche into Barry, a socially retarded, geek with a passion for taxidermy. Although Barry possesses a naïve, sweet nature, he’s dim-witted and tactless. But most of all, he’s just plain annoying. His sudden intrusion into Tim’s previously well-ordered life has dire consequences. The “tornado of destruction” as Tim refers to it begins with the departure of his live-in girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak), who is appalled that he would stoop so low as to humiliate someone in order to curry favor with his boss.
Painted with broad strokes by director Jay Roach, the film labors on its meandering path to the climactic dinner that is far from appetizing. Along the way we encounter a collection of absurd characters, the most notable of which is the narcissistic, pretentious artist Kieran, played with bountiful theatricality by The Flight of the Conchords’ Jermaine Clement.
Carell can unquestionably be hilarious, but he also veers towards the irritating at times, and in his portrayal of the pathetic Barry, it’s unfortunately the latter we get here. Rudd’s performance is rather more insipid, which again is a reflection of the bland character. Julie at least has integrity. She recognizes that deriving humour from the degradation of others is shameful. And while Dinner for Schmucks is rather less principled, it is after all just a movie. Just.
Kevin Murphy
