Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
Dinner for Schmucks (2010) — I laughed. A lot. That’s really all that’s relevant to reviewing this movie but I am far too long-winded to leave it at that. Paul Rudd, the onetime star of indie dramas like The Cider House Rules and The Shape of Things, seems to have settled into a career as “least crazy dude surrounded by crazy dudes” [Anchorman being a possible exception]. This guy could do it in his sleep at this point, but he’s good at it so whatever. Steve Carell has made a career playing various types of “oblivious” and seems to be combining several in this role as Barry, a guy who makes “art” out of dead mice. Barry’s amiable cluelessness keeps this hobby from ever seeming as horrifying as it actually is (no offense to all you taxidermists out there). Anyone who’s seen the preview (or I suppose the French film that this is a remake of) knows the plot: Rudd’s boss hosts a dinner to make fun of idiots. Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek), Ron Livingston (Office Space), and Larry Wilmore (The Daily Show) play the mockers. Zack Galifinakis (The Hangover), Patrick Fischler (Lost), and Jeff Dunham (really displaying his acting versatility by playing a ventriloquist) play the idiots. Jermaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) plays another idiot, unaffiliated with the dinner. There are a lot of idiots in this movie. Most of them are quite funny.
Persistence of Vision 