Movie Review: Dinner For Schmucks

I randomly picked out a movie to watch today and it was called “Dinner For Schmucks”. Now, before I give out my review, let me tell you a little bit about the movie first. The movie stars Steve Carrell (Evan Almighty, 40 Year Old Virgin) and Paul Rudd (40 Year Old Virgin, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy). The movie actually focuses on Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd), his career and his personal life. He works as a mid-level financial executive and he really wants to get a promotion. He has a girlfriend, who he loves very much and has decided that he wants her to be his wife. He is a dreamer but he seems to be in control with his life. All that changed when he met Barry Speck (Steve Carrell). Tim runs over Barry on his way to work and Tim decides that he has finally found the perfect candidate for his boss’ idea of a dinner for champions but it actually is a dinner for schmucks despite the fact that his girlfriend, Julie thought that the idea was rather cruel and totally barbaric. They develop an odd friendship from there and both their lives immediately changed forever.

*****CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT!!!*****

First of all, I would like to say that I like Steve Carrell as a comedian. He is hilarious to me even if he doesn't even say a word. His face is enough to make me chuckle however in this film, let's just say it's not one of my favorites. He acted like a dweeb in this movie and ended up being too conthrived in a sense. He didn't act naturally therefore he became over-acting. Paul Rudd isn't a bad actor as well. In this film, I really felt that he was annoyed with Barry for turning his life upside down. He knew what he wanted in life and he knew how he would get it. He had planned everything to work out fine but the only thing he hadn't expected was the day he met Barry. Barry had a weird way of expressing himself. He had a sad existence and the only thing that made him happy is by making mice-filled dioramas. Tim thought he'd be perfect for the dinner that his bosses have planned out but he never knew what the real dinner was for. They have told him that the dinner was in fact for champions but in the end, he realized it was for schmucks. It is a dinner where all the invited guests would have to bring someone who is different to show off during the dinner. Eventually whoever impresses everyone becomes the schmuck who will win a prize. Tim felt bad for Barry at the end of the dinner but at the same time he was miserable when even his life turning into ruins after they met. 


The movie was actually in fact based on Veber's 1998 French movie, "Le Dîner de Cons" ("The Dinner Game"), in which a bumbling man's actions force another character to become more human. I believe that despite the fact that Tim and Barry went into a lot of trouble in this film, everything didn't go to waste. To be honest, it was painful to watch for me at some point because I don't want Steve Carrell to be over-acting just like Jim Carrey. I really thought of giving up on the film when I decided to just see what happens next. I was pleased in the fact that ending was better than I expected. I love watching comedy movies but like what all people say, making a comedy movie is terrifying. Why? Because if you won't be able to make people laugh with your movie then that's the end of it. Nobody will watch it or even recommend the movie to anyone. I can't say that this movie was very funny but all I can say is that at least it still had it's moments. I can say though it was also very heartwarming. I believe I have a love-hate thing going on for Barry. I love him because despite everything that had happened to him, he still managed to become optimistic. I hate him because he was too weird for comfort in this film. In the end, everybody got what they wanted. Tim got his girlfriend, Julie back and he became successful in his chosen career while Barry got a new girlfriend. What more can anybody ask for?


Now is there a moral to their story? Perhaps. If you think about it deeply then there is more than one but the best lesson that we can get from this movie is the fact that not everybody is the same. Some people choose to be different because it is what and who they are. They can never be complete without being what they are and doing what they should do despite the fact that they are not normal and people start to look down upon them. I am a weird person myself and although, I am not as weird as the schmucks in this movie, I still believe that no matter how different you are, you are special and you should not let anybody tell you, you aren't. People might laugh at you or even persecute you, some might even bully you or constantly make fun of you all because they feel that it is self gratifying but who cares? Have you ever thought of the fact that being normal is overrated and that maybe you are getting picked on a lot because you are special? All I can say is stand tall and be proud of who and what you are. 

 The poster for the movie...

 A photo of the actual dinner for schmucks where the regular folks get to sit on the left side of the table and the odd people get to sit on the right side while the host of the dinner or party gets to sit in one end of the table.

Here's a photo of Barry along with his mice dioramas. All of them tell a different story in his life and most of the time when he meets new people, he creates mice that look exactly like them in a way and then adds them to his collection of dioramas. He eventually won the trophy for being the champion schmuck in the room but it's a good thing, Tim stood up for him and so did the other oddballs who went there with Tim's co-workers.