Dinner for Schmucks

Hapless, buck-toothed Barry Speck (Steve Carell) latches onto ambitious financial executive Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd), becoming his guest at a disastrously humiliating dinner for dummies, hosted by Conrad’s snobbish, wealthy boss (Bruce Greenwood). The premise of this dubious gathering is to find the biggest buffoon. And idiotic Speck fills the bill, foiling everyone’s plans and causing general chaos. A clueless IRS-drone, Speck is a consummate loser who’s described as smelling like a mixture of aftershave and formaldehyde, a man who spends his leisure time designing detailed dioramas—inspired “mousterpieces”—consisting of tiny, stuffed, costumed dead mice. Despite the presence of Conrad’s psychotic ex-girlfriend (Lucy Punch) and the art curator he’d like to marry (Stephanie Szostack), this silly, screwball, featherweight comedy focuses primarily on the bizarre “odd couple” relationship between Speck and Conrad. Adapted from filmmaker and playwright Francis Veber’s far-nastier 1998 French farce, Le Diner de Cons, director Jay Roach’s Dinner for Schmucks also features cameos by Zach Galifiankis, David Walliams, Kristen Schaal, and Jemaine Clement. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “The Biggest Schmucks in the World” behind-the-scenes featurette (15 min.), deleted scenes (9 min.), “Schmuck Ups” outtakes (8 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are “The Men Behind the Mouseterpieces” on creating the film's diorama props (12 min.), a “Meet the Winners” cast featurette (4 min.), and a “Paul and Steve: The Decision” ESPN skit with costars Paul Rudd and Steve Carrell (4 min.). Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven film.] (S. Granger)