DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS

Dinner for Schmucks stars Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, Bruce Greenwood and Jemaine Clement. Directed by Jay Roach. Rated PG-13 with a running time of 1 hr. and 50 mins.

Dinner for Schmucks tells the story of Tim (Rudd), a guy on the verge of having it all. The only thing standing between him and total career success is finding the perfect guest to bring to his boss' annual Dinner for Extraordinary People, an event where the winner of the evening brings the most eccentric character as his guest. Enter Barry (Carell), a guy with a passion for dressing mice up in tiny outfits to recreate great works of art. What ensues is a forming of a crazy friendship and one hell of a dinner.

Dinner for Schmucks made me realize something; Steve Carell is a great comedic actor. I always knew he was funny since seeing him in Anchorman and The 40 Year Old Virgin and of course as the hilarious boss on the Office. But since seeing this movie it just made me see Carell in a new even funnier way. He really makes this movie work and it is a more than average comedy. Its kind of heart warming how Carell's character thinks that the people invited to the dinner are normal and he thinks they are very talented people and you know what they are! It basically says that the people inviting the said schmucks are the real schmucks. I really liked that aspect of the film and thats what Rudd's character learns in the movie. Rudd and Carell make a good comedy team even though Rudd is mostly the straight man in the film. Zach Galifanakis has true comic timing and he is becoming a giant comedy star and he deserves it. His character Thurman is absolutely hilarious as a IRS agent who believes he can control others brains. He just brings extra laughs to the movie. The dinner is the finale of the movie and thats where we meet the other schmucks and of course it is very funny.

Dinner for Schmucks can be a little predictable at times but its constantly throwing jokes at your face and for me most of the time it worked. You also learn a little about Barry's past and which is sweet and kind of sad. While not the funniest movie I have ever seen, Dinner for Schmucks is a mermorable one.

B+