David O'ConnellDinner for Schmucks
September 29th 2010 04:25
"American remake": two words bound to inject fear into the hearts of discriminating moviegoers the world ‘round. Especially when the source material is a French comedy. Is it reasonable to suppose that virtually everything successful about the original will be comprehensively lost in translation? Subtleties and inflections of culturally relevant humour reduced to pratfalls, idiocy and appealing to the lowest common denominator? Bet on it.
Tim (Paul Rudd) is a nice but ambitious guy. He works as an analyst for an equity firm where he and his secretary harbor one ambition – to escape the drudgery of the company’s 6th floor and ascend to the golden peaks of the 7th floor. A novel idea which may attract a slice of wealthy Swiss businessman Mueller's (David Walliams) fortune wins the approval of his superior Lance (Bruce Greenwood). He’s momentarily welcomed into the fold, with a final hurdle to negotiate before he can claim the office of a recently sacked employee: bring a guest along to their next dinner, somebody with “extraordinary talent”. You see, Lance and his offsiders are self-proclaimed “collectors” of a very strange sort. And what a neat euphemism it is, for these men love nothing more than to outdo one another with the absurdity of their guests - an assuredly eclectic bunch who unwittingly attend, only to be coaxed into 'performing' and then secretly derided.
Tim, naturally has misgivings but can’t stand the thought of missing out on promotion. The 7th floor beckons so he agrees, despite having no suitable candidate in mind. Who then should magically appear in the road on his way home but a bonafide idiot of epic proportions. When Tim harmlessly knocks over Barry (Steve Carell) – trying to retrieve a dead mouse from the middle of the road – he realises he’s chanced upon the perfect candidate for the dinner. Barry, you see, likes to arrange elaborate dioramas of dead mice enacting snapshots of a better life or momentous historical events. Problem solved then. But no, Barry is like a leech, and an irksome one at that, able to set mayhem in motion by merely opening his mouth.
This remake of Francis Veber’s 1999 comedy The Dinner Game begins amiably enough before running aground in the painfully protracted middle stages where it loses all connection to reality, instead becoming high farce. Every minute brings a fresh calamity as Barry turns up a day early at Tim’s luxurious apartment and unleashes his well-intentioned but destructive ways. By morning both Tim’s job and his relationship with girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) will be hanging by a thread. All thanks to the meddling Barry whose worst crime is inadvertently posing as Tim on his computer where he intercepts messages from a deranged woman, Darla (Lucy Punch), who Tim had a one-night stand with three years before and has been stalking him ever since.
Is any of this even remotely funny? For a while yes, mostly thanks the ever agreeable Rudd who tries his darnedest to save face in difficult circumstances. The man personifies earnestness and remains one of more likable screen presences of today. It must be said however that in last year’s I Love You Man for example, he had much superior material to work with.
And what about Carell, does he actually stretch himself? Not at all, though nobody can argue that he misses the mark as an appropriately infuriating fool with his bad haircut, anti-style attire and moronic face-pulling. As for the support crew, the wild antics of Punch and Zach Galifianakis are good for a couple of emissions that might mistakenly be construed as near-chuckles, nothing more.
Dinner for Schmucks, blandly directed by Jay Roach, partially redeems itself - salvaging perhaps a measure of credibility - down the stretch. But at 114 minutes, this almost waterlogged vessel needed something more inspired to dredge it back to shore than the actual dinner scene - when it belatedly arrives. A face-saving, very lame attempt at evoking pathos leaves an embarrassing aftertaste though.
But that middle section just can't be overcome; it's where the laughs really dry up, Barry managing between every second intake of breath to ram another spike of misfortune into the bursting bubble of Tim’s once-protected world. The misery he inflicts simply exceeds the point whereby any reasonable person would be driven to homicidal revenge to remove this fool’s presence from sight, legal consequences be damned. There were times when I would have gladly assisted in disposing of the body.
Dinner for Schmucks opens in Australia tomorrow, September 30.
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Comment by Matt Shea
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
I think they should start with
Dinner for Schmucks 2: Schmuck Me Dead.
before capping the trilogy off with-
Dinner for Schmucks 3: Get the Schmuck out of Here!
Comment by Deni
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Was The Dinner Game any good?
I must admit I have a soft spot for Steve Carrel thanks to 40 year old virgin, but thats as far as I go with any of these Rudd things. These Apatow production just get stinkier and stinkier. found 'I love You Man' underwhelming and average and found Forgetting Sarah Marshall insufferable.
Delicious review Dave
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
Hopefully Eat Pray Love and Buried in the next couple of days will be less of a waste of time.
Shaun it is indeed mediocre. One week cinema run is guaranteed, better hurry!
Actually mate, I haven't seen The Dinner Game for years but I remember it being fairly silly, forgettable stuff too. Just like Hollywood then to pick a dumb foreign film and transform it into something even dumber!
As far as personal taste goes, 40 Year old Virgin is basically the only Carell project I've ever seen that wasn't awful. I actually like I Love You Man and Forgetting Sarah Marshall though. Both tickled my funny bone, and like I say, Paul Rudd is a winner in anything.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I must admit when I saw the trailer the other day, I laughed out loud several times. Which is rare for a movie like this.
I do like The 40 Year Old Virgin though. Very funny.
Carrell seems to be aping Mr Bean and Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber ....
BTW Dave, I saw Buried a couple of days ago, my review's up tomorrow.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I saw the trailer for this and just shrugged, looked like a classic stripped of substance.
I am going out on a limb here, I actually didn't mind the 1995 US remake of theThe Dinner Game titled "The Last Supper". It starred Ron Pearlman and is also the only Cameon Diaz film that I like.
Comment by Matt Shea
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
The Last Supper was 95 and The Dinner Game 98. I always assumed Last Supper was just a remake with all the similarities. Maybe the French were interested by the U.S. yet again
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
Matt and JD, you've raised a gem there, The Last Supper is indeed an underrated and forgotten marvel. A wicked little film it is, and probably the first and last time Cameron Diaz was actually bearable in a film. Loved Paxton's redneck cameo too.