- Dinner for Schmucks
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Dinner for Schmucks 
Theatrical posterDirected by Jay Roach Produced by - Walter F. Parkes
- Laurie MacDonald
- Jay Roach
Screenplay by - David Guion
- Michael Handelman
Based on Le Dîner de Cons (The Dinner of Cretins) by Francis Veber Starring Music by Theodore Shapiro Cinematography Jim Denault Editing by Alan Baumgarten Studio - DreamWorks
- Spyglass Entertainment
- Reliance ADA Group[1]
- BIG Pictures
Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date(s) July 30, 2010 Running time 114 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $69 million[2][3] Box office $86,406,677[3] Dinner for Schmucks, a 2010 screwball comedy film, is the American adaptation of the French film Le Dîner de Cons ("The Dinner Game"), being described by the director as "inspired by" the original rather than a remake of it.[4] It does retain many familiar elements of the original, with the basic plot including the involvement of the taxation authorities and the love triangle around the main character, but he is made much more sympathetic (this is the first dinner he has participated in, and he is not in fact having an affair or deliberately cheating on his taxes) and the actual dinner is shown.
The film was directed by Jay Roach, written by David Guion and Michael Handelman, and stars Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, who had previously teamed up in Anchorman and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. The film was released theatrically on July 30, 2010.
Zach Galifianakis won the Comedy Award for "Best Comedy Actor – Film" for his role as Therman Murch in the film.[5]
Contents
Plot
Timothy "Tim" Conrad (Paul Rudd) is an ambitious financial executive who entices wealthy Swiss businessman Martin Mueller (David Walliams) to become a client of his firm. Impressed by Tim's creative marketing ingenuity, his boss Lance Fender (Bruce Greenwood) invites him to a "dinner for winners," to which Tim must bring a "talented" guest; the winner earns a trophy and the executive that brought him or her gets glory. Tim learns it is actually a "dinner for idiots" and the award is to the biggest "loser."
Tim's girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) lands a curator deal for eccentric artist Kieran Vollard (Jemaine Clement). Tim unsuccessfully proposes to her, as he has done several times before. After learning of the cruel nature of the dinner party, Julie becomes upset and asks him not to attend. He agrees.
The next day, Tim accidentally hits IRS employee Barry Speck (Steve Carell) with his Porsche as Barry attempts to retrieve a dead mouse in the road. While helping Barry pick up his belongings from the street, Tim learns of Barry's hobby of constructing mouse dioramas and realizes Barry is the perfect guest for the company dinner.
Julie is upset that Tim intends to attend the dinner. She leaves her cellphone behind. Barry shows up at Tim's apartment a day early. He gets on Tim's computer and foolishly gives Tim's home address to Darla (Lucy Punch), a woman Tim had a one-night stand with before he met Julie. Tim tells him that Darla has been stalking him ever since. Barry (to make amends for inviting her) decides to guard Tim's apartment, but mistakes Julie for Darla, sending her away and giving her the mistaken impression that Tim is cheating on her.
Having messed up again, Barry decides to help by calling Vollard to locate Julie. Believing they hear Julie in the background, he and Tim sneak into Vollard's home. Kieran, dressed as an animal, is discovered with two women, dressed as birds, in an art "process."
Returning to Tim's, Barry finds Darla waiting outside, wearing a suspicious overcoat. Underneath is a leather outfit made of tight pants and a corset. She attempts to seduce Tim, who tries to get her to leave. Tim gets a phone call from Julie, but can't answer because Darla snatches his phone and hides it in the front of her thong. Tim locks himself inside his room as he continues to try to get in contact with Julie. Frustrated by his rejection, Darla tries to seduce Barry in order to spite Tim but fails because Barry innocently fails to comprehend all of her sexual innuendos, which finally gets her to leave.
Barry finds a message on Julie's cellphone from Vollard, revealing that Julie is leaving for Vollard's ranch. Barry, trying again to make amends, suggests that they go to his IRS office to find records containing Vollard's ranch address. They meet Barry's boss Therman Murch (Zach Galifianakis), who displays "mind control" power over Barry. He will help only if Barry will say "You can eat my pudding," which Barry refuses to do. Therman informs Tim that he will be audited, and they leave without the address. Outside, the two see Therman kiss a woman Barry reveals is his ex-wife, saying, "I used to call her my pudding."
Tim lets Barry sleep at his place. He finds several pictures (with mice instead of people) depicting Barry's life, including him walking in on Therman and his wife in bed which is followed by mouse-Barry eating by himself, causing Tim to feel sorry for Barry.
Tim arrives at a brunch with Mueller, making an excuse for Julie's absence. Barry takes a call from Tim's assistant Susana (Kristen Schaal), who emphasizes the importance of Julie's attendance. Barry crashes the business lunch, bringing Darla, who pretends to be Julie. Tim is goaded by Mueller into proposing to her, which he does just as Julie arrives unexpectedly.
After Darla smashes Tim's Porsche, Barry tries again to make amends by giving in to Therman's humiliating demands so that he can get Vollard's address. At the ranch, Vollard is attempting to seduce Julie with his art "process." Tim explains recent events to her, but while confiding what a fool Barry is, Barry overhears. Julie tells Tim she is leaving for San Francisco with Vollard. Barry sadly confesses he never knew what his wife thought of him until she left him. Tim apologizes for what has happened, and Barry returns home to his mouse dioramas.
After the loss of his "talented" guest, Tim arrives at the dinner party armed with excuses. To his surprise, he finds Barry has arrived on his own, and is already impressing Fender and Mueller. Barry's dioramas become a hit at the party, making him a shoe-in for the trophy, but unexpectedly, Therman arrives and embarrasses Barry with his mind control.
Tim takes Barry aside, tells him everything and, after some encouragement, entices Barry to overcome Therman with "brain control." Upon Barry's reception of the trophy, Tim confronts Fender, saying he has been on the wrong side all along - he stands with the group of "losers." As the real purpose of the dinner is revealed, the guests react unhappily and inadvertently cause chaos, resulting in a vulture carrying off Mueller's finger and the house catching fire.
Tim returns home and finds Julie's note that she has gone. Knowing he has lost all but done the right thing, Tim tells Barry how much he loves Julie and how badly he messed things up with her. Barry, seeing Julie has just shown up at the doorway, goads Tim into continuing to describe how he messed up. Barry explains to Vollard (who is waiting at the door) that if he takes Julie it will break Tim's heart and people die of broken hearts; Vollard valiantly steps aside.
An epilogue of Barry's dioramas tells how everyone fared in the end: Tim marries Julie and they honeymoon in Paris; Barry enters into a relationship with Darla, does some artwork with Vollard, and hosts a monthly "breakfast for champions" for all of the "losers"; Therman writes a book from a mental hospital; Tim and Julie collaborate on a new museum in Switzerland with Mueller. It is revealed that Fender's company has gone under and Forbes magazine has named him "Wall Street's Biggest Loser."
Cast
- Paul Rudd as Timothy J. "Tim" Conrad
- Steve Carell as Barry Speck
- Stephanie Szostak as Julie
- Jemaine Clement as Kieran Vollard
- Lucy Punch as Darla
- Zach Galifianakis as Therman Murch
- Bruce Greenwood as Lance Fender
- Ron Livingston as Caldwell
- Andrea Savage as Robin
- David Walliams as Mueller
- Rick Overton as The Beard Champion
- P. J. Byrne as Davenport
- Octavia Spencer as Madame Nora
- Alex Parlar as Santiago Pérez
- Jeff Dunham as Lewis / Diane
- Chris O'Dowd as Marco (credited as "Christopher O'Dowd")
- Kristen Schaal as Susana
- Patrick Fischler as Vincenzo
- Randall Park as Henderson
- Larry Wilmore as Williams
- Alex Borstein as Martha (Barry's Wife / Therman's Girlfriend)
- Blanca Soto as Catherine
Production
The budget for the film was split between the distributor Paramount Pictures, as well as DreamWorks Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment. The production budget was $69 million, although thanks to tax credits the cost came in at $62.7 million.[2]
Filming of the dinner scene took place at the same location as was used for Wayne Manor in the 1960s Batman television series.[6]
Release
Dinner for Schmucks was pushed back a week to July 30, 2010, to avoid competition with Salt and Inception.[7][8]
Marketing
As part of promoting the film, the website Funny or Die featured videos of Jemaine Clement in character as Kieran Vollard.[9][10]
The film's first trailer debuted with Date Night, Death at a Funeral, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. The second trailer was shown before select screenings of The A-Team, Get Him to the Greek, Grown Ups, and Inception.
Reception
Critical response
The film has received mixed reviews. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives a normalized score of 43% based on 182 reviews, with an average score of 5.4/10.[11] The critical consensus was: "It doesn't honor its source material – or its immensely likable leads – as well as it should, but Dinner for Schmucks offers fitfully nourishing comedy."[11] Metacritic, which gives a weighted average score out of 100, gives the film 56% based on 37 reviews.[12]
Box office
The film made $8.4 million on its first day, ranking number two at the box office, behind Inception. The film earned $23,300,000 on its opening weekend, placing it second overall for the weekend of July 30 to August 1.[3]
Title discussion
Debate ensued about the title's usage of the Yiddish word 'schmucks.' Debbie Schlussel asked whether the title should have been Dinner for Schlemiels as it would better describe the clumsy character played by Steve Carell.[13] Responding in The New York Times, critic Michael Cieply determined that the intent was to be ambiguous as to which of the two main characters, played by Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, was the intended idiot.[14] In The Forward, Laura Hodes suggested that 'schmucks' correctly referred instead to the behavior of the film's antagonists, the bosses of Rudd's character.[15] Despite this, the original French play and movie, Le Dîner de cons, was originally translated as The Dinner Game[16] when released for English-speaking audiences. However, one literal translation is "The Dinner of Cunts".[17]
Home media
Dinner for Schmucks was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on January 4, 2011.
References
- ^ Zeitchik, Steven (July 25, 2010). "'Dinner for Schmucks': a long time between courses". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company): p. 4. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/25/entertainment/la-ca-schmucks-20100725/4. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
- ^ a b Fritz, Ben (2010-07-29). "Movie projector: 'Schmucks,' cats, dogs and Zac Efron will all open behind 'Inception'". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company). http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/schmucks-cats-dogs-and-zac-efron-will-all-open-behind-inception.html. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
- ^ a b c "Dinner for Schmucks (2010)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dinnerforschmucks.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ O’Connell, Sean (2010-07-26). "Interview: “Dinner for Schmucks” director Jay Roach on Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and Sacha Baron Cohen". hollywoodnews.com. http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2010/07/26/interview-dinner-for-schmucks-director-jay-roach-on-steve-carell-paul-rudd-and-sacha-baron-cohen/. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
- ^ The Comedy Awards
- ^ Yvonne Villarreal (May 2, 2010). "Summer Sneaks: ‘Dinner for Schmucks’. Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, together again". Los Angeles Times: pp. 2. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/02/entertainment/la-ca-schmucks-20100502.
- ^ "Dinner for Schmucks Delayed – Runs from Salt, Inception". Screencrave.com. 2010-06-09. http://screencrave.com/2010-06-09/dinner-for-schmucks-delayed-runs-from-salt-inception/. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
- ^ Variety magazine, June 9, 2010
- ^ "New Dinner for Schmucks Clip and Character Features". Screencrave.com. 2010-07-16. http://screencrave.com/2010-07-16/new-dinner-for-schmucks-clip-and-character-features/. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
- ^ "Dinner_For_Schmucks on Funny or Die". Funnyordie.com. http://www.funnyordie.com/dinner_for_schmucks. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
- ^ a b "Dinner for Schmucks Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dinner_for_schmucks/. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
- ^ "Dinner for Schmucks". Metacritic. CBS. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/dinnerforschmucks.
- ^ Debbie Schlussel (2010-04-07). ""Dinner For Schmucks": Hollywood Brings Us More Garbage for Summer Movie Season". http://www.debbieschlussel.com/20212/dinner-for-schmucks-hollywood-brings-us-more-garbage-for-summer-movie-season/. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ Michael Cieply (2010-05-04). "Much Movie Title Meshugas". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/movies/04dinner.html. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ Laura Hodes (2010-08-03). "Of 'Schmucks' and Schlemiels". The Forward. http://www.forward.com/articles/129781/. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ "The Dinner Game". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119038/. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ "Con trick". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/1999/jul/02/4. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
External links
- Official website
- Dinner for Schmucks at the Internet Movie Database
- Dinner for Schmucks at AllRovi
- Dinner for Schmucks at Rotten Tomatoes
- Dinner for Schmucks at Box Office Mojo
Films directed by Jay Roach 1990s Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) · Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) · Mystery, Alaska (1999)2000s Meet the Parents (2000) · Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) · Meet the Fockers (2004) · Recount (2008)2010s Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
Categories:- 2010 films
- American films
- English-language films
- 2010s comedy films
- American comedy films
- American screwball comedy films
- Slapstick films
- American remakes of French films
- Films set in California
- Films directed by Jay Roach
- Paramount Pictures films
- DreamWorks films
- Spyglass Entertainment films
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