Review of Dinner for Schmucks (2010) by Emily A — 16 Aug 2011

This movie is a lot of fun, and it's interesting to see a film peopled with characters that are both cartoonish but grounded with a great deal of humanity. Barry isn't simply a one-dimensional, obnoxious doofus; He actually really cares about his friends and feels pain very acutely when he's rejected.

The villains in this movie are bad people the way real people are bad: they glory in making fun of others and tearing them down, and are persistently petty, snide and negative. Tim's desire to be part of thier world is what made him a bad person originally, and his character arch is actually a real pleasure to watch.

It's refreshing in this movie, which is at times really mean-spirited. There are also times where the farcical narrative trips over its own zany chaos and devolves into a huge mess, but it's the characters that keep it together and keep you watching.

This movie is fun, but I wouldn't put it with my classic comedies.