Review of Dinner for Schmucks (2010) by Sailoraide — 12 Jan 2011

What do you say about a comedy that isn't funny? Therein lies my predicament. Dinner for Schmucks is simply that: not funny. Whereas most good comedies find a balance between hearty laughs and emotional moments, the film seems to lean more on the latter than former. Painfully overlong, it's attempts at humor fizzle quickly. The obvious and proven talent of Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and Zach Galifianakis never shines through. Scene by scene you slowly begin to realize that the "aha" moment is just not coming. I didn't laugh out loud once, and barely managed a grin. In fact, I found myself so disinterested by the halfway point that I only paid attention so that I could give a fair review. There was certainly little entertainment value to be found. What is probably most disappointing is that the very title of the film and main event on which it bases it's story only lasts a few minutes. That's right, there is roughly an hour and a half build-up to the actual "dinner with schmucks." And believe me, there is no payoff. In hindsight, I should have skipped this one altogether. I could have found more humor in doing my laundry or taking a shower. But perhaps I've now taken one for the team and others may be spared the colossal waste of time this film turns out to be.

Dinner for Schmucks is one re-make that should never have been made. A possibly funny idea is completely destroyed in the execution. The actors try, but are clearly handcuffed by a terrible script. This film was a big miss from start to finish and I highly, highly recommend avoiding it. Unless of course you're having in trouble sleeping, in which case it might be the perfect medicine.