Dinner For Schmucks

Posted In: Due Date

Iola Turntine says...

I'm the kind of fellow who would view a foreign film with subtitles than watch a formulaic Hollywood production.But on a recommendation, I went to see this movie, and my time was not wasted.The reason it works so well is that the star Emma Stone (as Olive Penderghast) naturally communicates intelligence, charm, and old fashioned girl charisma. By the end of the film, we're not sure whether we want her as a virgin..or not.



Now that we are in the 21st century, the meaning of Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter" - the "A" - which stands for adultery is far less scandalous.So when Olive daringly sews such a letter on her dress (over her breast, no less) she communicates a vibrant sexuality. But is that good or bad?



Our heroine is going to high school in a conservative part of Southern California. When Olive tells a white lie that she had a teenage affair, voila...she becomes the "gossip of the day";Suddenly this reclusive girl becomes the one female that everyone notices.Being of good heart - as opposed to her fundamentalist Christian nemesis - she uses this new power to help others' reputations, such as a gay student who is constantly bullied for being so.(The scene where she misleads her classmates to believe she is having 'wild sex" with the gay fellow is hilarious).



The themes of the movie - how society perceives sexuality -how an individual develops a sense of self worth = are important ones.And those themes are handled fluidly by the good ensemble cast. For example, Stanley Tucci as her liberal minded parent is a hoot. (When her mom says that she is starting to look like a hooker, her dad remarks, yes...but a high class hooker.I guess most of us don't have parents "that" open minded.) So for those who "hate" teen comedies...you may be making a mistake by missing this one.

Posted on May 11, 2011

Marcella Ya says...

Dumb and Dumber type of humor, without the bathroom scene. If you are a person who can see humor in everything, you will love.

Posted on May 11, 2011

Jeneva Caho says...

I had high hopes for this movie because Paul Rudd and Steve Carell are two of the biggest comedians in Hollywood today. This movie was excellent, but it didn't really meet my expectations. That being said, Steve Carell's performance made me bump up the rating from 4 stars to 5 stars. I love The Office but Steve Carell was definitely at his funniest in this role, period! I literally couldn't stop laughing in the theaters (which got a little embarrassing because the funny scene had ended) but it was well worth it. This movie is a must for anyone who wants a comedy that won't disappoint like many of the excuses for comedies Hollywood has put out in the past years. RECOMMEND

Posted on May 14, 2011

Jon Buben says...

I'm extremely critical of comedy movies; I have a small spectrum on what is funny. I completely enjoyed this movie. Every character is well-developed, each with their own personal quirks. Steve Carell is absolutely hysterical with his classic awkwardness taken to a new extreme. Paul Rudd is a totally adorable man. If you haven't seen it yet, make an effort to do so.

Posted on May 14, 2011

Alphonse Ozga says...

Dinner for Schmucks is a lot like getting a Shiatsu massage from a member of the women's German Olympic weightlifting team. Nice at first and you end you feeling good about it by the end, but it can sure get uncomfortable along the way. The movie is funny. Very funny at times. At times I feel like pullingmy hair. It's a mixed bag. However when you get down to it I didn't regret watching it and look back remembering the fun stuff more than the stuff I complain about.



The movie is a situation comedy. One dude (Paul Rudd) wants to rise up the corporate ladder and one of way of doing it is to get a schmuck for this joke dinner party. Dude finds a schmuck (Steve Carell), who then latches onto him and all sorts of embarrassingly crazy stuff happens. It's similar comedy that you would find in Due Date (maybe it's a Zack Galifianakis as he is in both movies). Sometimes it's pretty funny and sometimes you just wish they would quit running the gag as long as they do. In the middle of the movie it's especially exasperating and borders on being painfully droll. There is only so many times (and minutes) I can stand seeing Carell destroy Rudd's life in various little ways.



It's when they get off on that kick and move further into the absurdities and quirkiness of the characters that the comedy starts to take off for me. Jemaine Clement as the eccentric artist Kieran gives a refreshingly out of the box performance, Galifianakis' character is weird but gels right in with Carell. Much of the good stuff happens in the beginning and the penultimate "dinner" scene at the end of the movie. It's makes it worth the wait when you get there. You get a blind swordsman making funny challenges, a pet psychic talking to the food, even Jeff Dunham married to one of his dummies. There is a fair amount of comedy gold in the rough.



The movie is not just all hijinks as the main characters do a little soul searching and maturing throughout the movie. This includes Steve Carell's character getting a little growth along with Rudd's character learning a life lesson suitable for an after school special. The movie is far from perfect, but it does have heart.



The Blu-Ray release will be in 16x9 widescreen format in 1080p with audio in 5.1 DTS-HD (dvd will be in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround). Extra features will be the following:



- The Biggest Schmucks in the World featurette



- "Schmuck Ups" gag reel



- Deleted scenes



- The Men Behind the Mousterpieces (Blu-Ray exclusive presented in High Definition)



- Meet the Winners (another Hi Def BD exclusive)



- Paul and Steve: The Decision: A spoof of the LeBron James Press Conference (BD exclusive in Hi Def)



Dinner for Schmucks isn't for everyone. You gotta enjoy quirky comedy. And you gotta enjoy the kind of comedy that puts you in awkward moments. For those of you who do enjoy that you have a little gem here. For those who enjoy some, but not all I still say at least do a rental. You may be glad you did.

Posted on May 15, 2011

Taren Laskoski says...

This movie was actually a lot better than I was expecting. I laughed almost the whole time. Paul Rudd and Steve Carell were the perfect comedic team. Rudd stars as an executive named Tim Conrad. Tim wants a promotion, and is asked to bring an eccentric person with a special talent to a dinner. He soon learns that it's a dinner where rich people make fun of the people they bring. Tim accidentally runs into a man named Barry Speck with his car. He decides to invite him to the dinner. Tim tries to survive Barry's silly antics before the dinner even starts. This is a very fun movie to watch. I highly recommend DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS!!!

Posted on May 16, 2011

Novella Underkoffler says...

I was expecting more. Maybe i didn't really like it because i have watched the original French one "The Dinner Game" (1998) which i actually liked a lot. Still worth to watch.

Posted on May 17, 2011

Carolina Macconnell says...

Easy A is about Olive, an average high-school girl who, to get out of a camping trip with her best friend, decides to make up a lie that she's going out with a college guy that weekend.After the rumor spins out of control as the school's Christian mean girl gets a hold of it, she tells everyone!Olive decides to use the rumor as an advantage as people pay her to say that she slept with them.



Easy A is a fantastic movie.It's a comedy-drama that's a mix of the witty dialogue of Juno (You'll be quoting the movie after you're done) with the theme of popularity from Mean Girls along with the Christianity of Saved!The character's are extremely likable.Emma Stone and Amanda Bynes are probably the best characters in this movie along with Olive's parents.The plot deals greatly on today's issues of sexuality and the pressure's of having sex before you're ready.The ending felt rushed but, the rest of the movie was so well done, it didn't have an effect on the rating.I give this movie an Easy five stars!



The special features included on the DVD and Bluray seem like a great extra for the lovers of this movie.

Posted on May 17, 2011

Jaime Murtagh says...

25 minutes into the movie, my IQ has dropped 25 points. I now have an IQ of -25, pull the plug now.



The movie has Steve Carell as one of the main characters (the guy from OFFICE, GET SMART, DATE NIGHT).

That should have warned you about the mentality of this movie.





Anyhow, it's amusing, but in a stupid OMG-WTH-IS-HE-SH*TTIN-ME-1+1=11? Kind of way. However, I've seen similar movies. I wouldn't watch this in the theater and if I did, I wouldn't bring anyone I really...actually...care and love. Maybe someone I hate or not really care for. Burns time, has so many over the top ridiculous moments.



The movie casts Steve Carell as Berry, Paul Rudd as Tim, and Stephanie Szostak as Julie. Julie is Tim's girlfriend. Tim has proposed to her twice, but has yet to receive a definite answer. I'll restrain myself from releasing the full plot, but the reason the movie is titled "Dinner for Schmucks" is because the movie involves inviting schmucks (SLANG- NOUN: incompetent, obnoxious, contemptible person)over for dinner. The goal of the invitation is to see who is the biggest schmuck of them all. A competition of schmucks. You can guess who's the schmuck between those three characters, it's an easy guess.



That said, I'll let you watch the movie to find out the rest. Should you watch it? Sure, you might end up enjoying the dumbed down humor more than I did. It's amusing sometimes and does give you some laugh-out-loud occasions, but it's also the kind of humor that makes you, the viewer, embarrass just to watch it.

Posted on May 17, 2011

Andrea Mo says...

Firstly although this film is rated PG, it does contain mature themes and material. So you may want to watch it before letting it loose on your teenagers.



This film contains the highest form of the 'odd couple' that I can think of. Here is Tim (Paul Rudd), an up and coming financial executive that works for Fender Financial {a compay that specialises in the equity of distressed assets}; then there is Barry (Steve Carell) an IRS worker who stuffs dead mice and makes artistic pieces with them in his spare time. So here you have a very serious ruthless executive on one hand and a kind of oddball guy on the next side.



Tim accidentally bounces into Barry literally, but sees it as a great opportunity, since he needs to finds an idiot to invite to the company head executives' monthly dinner, where each executive must invite a buffoon and there is a little competition that they carry on. A lot is riding on this dinner for Tim, since his promotion still has to be confirmed.



The story unfolds on two fronts:



[1] Tim's relationship with Julie, who he wants to marry, however Barry mixes things up and an old phycho girlfriend that he had comes back into his life and she really smashes his stuff up.



[2] Tim's relationship with Barry and going to this 'Buffoon Dinner', or as they would call them - 'extraordiinary people'.



The laughter reaches its highest pitch at the dinner, there is truly a wide mix of oddities that have been invited. Each one individually will really make you crack up, they are just so weird and off the wall.



So, this is a great comedy that will make you laugh quite a bit throughout the entire film, so enjoy.

Posted on May 18, 2011