Dinner for Schmucks
Dir: Jay Roach
2010
***
I would argue that Dinner for Schmucks is just that little bit better than Le dinner de Cons. The American remake better than the French original? Yes, it's a first. It is silly and a little formulaic in places but it succeeds in the fact that it has a very capable and very funny cast. Paul Rudd is the straight man, again, but he is quite good at it. I find it odd that people consider him a comedy actor because he isn't funny and that's never really been his role. Steve Carell is pretty dependable, his character has little back-story and is just odd for the sake of it which I think was a wise decision, he didn't need reasoning behind his madness, it's just best that he's just like that. Jemaine Clement, David Walliams, Lucy Punch and Chris O'Dowd are the best of the support, between them producing enough laughs for the film to be quite an easy and enjoyable watch. The Mice animation made it far superior to the original alone.