Dinner for Schmucks

There’s a whole lot of talent in this remake of The Dinner Game, and it goes to waste, for the most part. Paul Rudd (who I couldn’t love more) plays Tim, a business exec who, in order to be promoted, must bring an idiot to a dinner where his bosses make fun of unfortunate people. Tim meets Barry (Steve Carell), a simpleton who likes to stuff dead mice and use them in dioramas; Barry gets invited to the dinner, much to the chagrin of Tim’s boring girlfriend, Julie (Stephanie Szostak). The dinner is funny, but it’s at the end of a film that has a few too many dull stretches. It also features an overbearing Jemaine Clement as an artist nobody could possibly like, although he’s a huge success in this film’s universe. Zach Galifianakis shows up as another weirdo, and he gets a few chuckles. Director Jay Roach has created an amazing failure, considering his stellar cast.