Dinner for Schmucks

USA 2010, 109 minutes
Dir. Jay Roach
Rating: [M]
Genres: Comedy

Feat. Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, Jemaine Clement, Stephanie Szostak, Bruce Greenwood, Ron Livingston, Kristen Schaal

Aroview: Thoroughly redeemable remake of the French farce THE DINNER GAME in which a group of alpha-male executives compete to bring the biggest 'schmuck' to dinner - among them, Steve Carrell as a dim-witted IRS agent.

Deviates enough from the French original to be its own film and is another entirely respectable entry on the CV of Paul Rudd (the reigning king of smart low-brow comedy) as the ambitious middle manager possessed of everyman ethics. Jemaine Clement keeps his 'exotic' Kiwi accent and eats up another role as a pretentious artiste, with his animal magnetism making him a not-so-ironic sex symbol. Like the director's MEET THE PARENTS, this has a certainty of tone and performance, and pays off in a suitably OTT finale.