Dinner For Schmucks follows Tim (Paul Rudd), a businessman with a steady job and relationship. He is about to get a promotion but there is one catch. The higher ups have a dinner where they all invite "idiots" to dinner to make fun of them. This puts Tim in a bind because, although he doesn't approve and plans to go through with it to get the promotion, his girlfriend is completely against. And then Tim meets Barry (Steve Carell), a well meaning taxidermist who uses mice to recreate famous paintings and create some of his own. This is Tim's perfect guest. He is then sent on a wild ride that brings ex-girlfriends back into the picture and turns Tim's life upside down before the big dinner hits.
I think the biggest problem with this movie is how it was advertised. It seemed that the movie who go something like this: Tim has dinner. Tim has to bring and idiot and finds Barry. A really big dinner with lots of laughs ensue. But the reality is that the dinner itself is less than a third of the movie. That doesn't mean it's not funny. In fact, there are plenty of laughs along the way, many of which are caused due to Barry doing things he really shouldn't. But it gave me the impression that I would sit through an extended dinner scene. Personally I'm glad the dinner wasn't so long and that the story moved into other places. I think it helped it work better and created more laughs.
The film also has a lot of heart. Despite Tim's initial intentions to make fun of Barry he starts to get attached to him. And what makes Barry's character so likable is that he is oblivious to the stupid things he does. He really is a charming man who just happens to be a little odd. And that is why I was able to cheer for him and hope everything turned out well for him. It also helped enhance the lessons that Tim learned throughout the film at the same time as making some entertaining comedy. When it comes to Steve Carell this year, this made up for Date Night. I actually felt like I laughed enough this time and I enjoyed the characters more.
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