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Dinner for Schmucks

  • 2010
  • PG-13
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
109K
YOUR RATING
Steve Carell and Paul Rudd in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
Tim (Rudd) is a rising executive who "succeeds" in finding the perfect guest, IRS employee Barry (Carell), for his boss's monthly event, a so-called "dinner for idiots," which offers certain advantages to the exec who shows up with the biggest buffoon.
Play trailer1:50
21 Videos
99+ Photos
Comedy

After he finds out that his work superiors host a dinner celebrating the idiocy of their special guests, a rising executive questions the merits of his invitation just as he befriends a man ... Read allAfter he finds out that his work superiors host a dinner celebrating the idiocy of their special guests, a rising executive questions the merits of his invitation just as he befriends a man who would be the perfect guest.After he finds out that his work superiors host a dinner celebrating the idiocy of their special guests, a rising executive questions the merits of his invitation just as he befriends a man who would be the perfect guest.

  • Director
    • Jay Roach
  • Writers
    • David Guion
    • Michael Handelman
    • Francis Veber
  • Stars
    • Steve Carell
    • Paul Rudd
    • Stephanie Szostak
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    5.9/10
    109K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jay Roach
    • Writers
      • David Guion
      • Michael Handelman
      • Francis Veber
    • Stars
      • Steve Carell
      • Paul Rudd
      • Stephanie Szostak
    • 353User reviews
    • 192Critic reviews
    • 56Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos21

    Dinner for Schmucks: Trailer #2
    Trailer 1:50
    Watch Dinner for Schmucks: Trailer #2
    Dinner for Schmucks
    Trailer 2:31
    Watch Dinner for Schmucks
    Dinner for Schmucks: "Don't Think About It"
    Clip 0:29
    Watch Dinner for Schmucks: "Don't Think About It"
    Dinner for Schmucks: "How Much"
    Clip 0:59
    Watch Dinner for Schmucks: "How Much"
    "Back Brace" from Dinner for Schmucks
    Clip 0:53
    Watch "Back Brace" from Dinner for Schmucks
    Dinner for Schmucks: "Shipping & Handling"
    Clip 0:46
    Watch Dinner for Schmucks: "Shipping & Handling"
    Dinner for Schmucks: "Speak Your Language"
    Clip 0:43
    Watch Dinner for Schmucks: "Speak Your Language"
    Dinner for Schmucks
    Clip 0:43
    Watch Dinner for Schmucks
    Dinner For Schmucks: Back Brace
    Clip 0:48
    Watch Dinner For Schmucks: Back Brace
    Dinner For Schmucks: Shipping And Handling
    Clip 0:46
    Watch Dinner For Schmucks: Shipping And Handling
    Dinner For Schmucks: Invited To Dinner
    Clip 0:42
    Watch Dinner For Schmucks: Invited To Dinner
    Dinner For Schmucks: Don't Think About It
    Clip 0:29
    Watch Dinner For Schmucks: Don't Think About It

    Photos146

    Steve Carell and Paul Rudd in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
    Steve Carell and Paul Rudd in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
    Steve Carell in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
    Jemaine Clement in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
    Jemaine Clement in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
    Jemaine Clement in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
    Bruce Greenwood in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
    Lucy Punch in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
    Lucy Punch, Paul Rudd, and Stephanie Szostak in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
    Steve Carell and Paul Rudd in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
    Jay Roach, Steve Carell, and Paul Rudd in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
    Jay Roach in Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Steve Carell
    Steve Carell
    • Barry
    Paul Rudd
    Paul Rudd
    • Tim
    Stephanie Szostak
    Stephanie Szostak
    • Julie
    Zach Galifianakis
    Zach Galifianakis
    • Therman
    Jemaine Clement
    Jemaine Clement
    • Kieran
    Lucy Punch
    Lucy Punch
    • Darla
    Bruce Greenwood
    Bruce Greenwood
    • Lance Fender
    David Walliams
    David Walliams
    • Müeller
    Ron Livingston
    Ron Livingston
    • Caldwell
    Larry Wilmore
    Larry Wilmore
    • Williams
    Kristen Schaal
    Kristen Schaal
    • Susana
    P.J. Byrne
    P.J. Byrne
    • Davenport
    Andrea Savage
    Andrea Savage
    • Robin
    Nick Kroll
    Nick Kroll
    • Josh
    Randall Park
    Randall Park
    • Henderson
    Lucy Davenport
    Lucy Davenport
    • Birgit
    Chris O'Dowd
    Chris O'Dowd
    • Marco - Blind Swordsman
    • (as Christopher O'Dowd)
    Jeff Dunham
    Jeff Dunham
    • Lewis the Ventriloquist
    • Director
      • Jay Roach
    • Writers
      • David Guion
      • Michael Handelman
      • Francis Veber
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      One of the film's writers, David Guion, was on set one day and noticed that Steve Carell was left handed. "I didn't know you were left handed" he remarked to the actor. "I'm not", replied Carell, "but my character is".
    • Goofs
      Darla and Barry throw a bottle of wine on the door in Tim's apartment. In the next shot the mess from the wine has disappeared.
    • Quotes

      Barry: Vincent Van Gogh. Everyone said to him, "You can't be a great painter, you only have one ear." And you know what he said? "I can't hear you."

    • Crazy credits
      After the credits, A diorama is displayed of a stuffed mouse sitting in a burnt down house, with Barry heard laughing as he reveals that Fender's company has gone bust with Forbes Magazine naming him the "World's Biggest Loser."
    • Alternate versions
      Trifecta-syndicated airings made two notable edits to the brunch scene:
      • The napkin reads "I'M HOT", instead of "I'M WET".
      • Barry's echo of Müeller's "Join yourself to her, in the name of love" is omitted, presumably because Barry could be interpreted as mocking Müeller's accent.
    • Connections
      Featured in Late Show with David Letterman: Steve Carell/Selena Gomez/Sheryl Crow (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      The Fool on the Hill
      Written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney

      Performed by The Beatles

      Courtesy of Capitol Records LLC

      Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

      [Played over both the opening and end credits]

    User reviews353

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Spotty comedy, saved by Carrell's brilliant performance
    I think it was the great comedian Edmund Gwenn who made the statement that "Dying is easy, comedy is hard." That is probably true but I am convinced that there are some actors who can make comedy look easy. At his best, Steve Carrell does just that. In 'Dinner for Schmucks' he occupies the role of Barry Speck, a blithering idiot for whom life is a jolly holiday and cynicism is a notion that seems to have passed him over. Barry's view of the world is devoid of irony or whimsy, he stares blankly with wide eyes and a stupid grin and never seems to understand what is happening right in front of him.

    Let me give you an example. Near the beginning of the movie, Barry is being seduced by a blond bimbo who tells him that she thinks she needs a spanking. We get this exchange:

    The Blond: "I'm a naughty school girl. I've been bad." Barry: "You look a little old to be a school girl" The Blond: "You're my schoolmaster. I need to be punished." Barry: "I'm not really qualified for that. I work for the IRS."

    That kind of idiocy makes Barry the perfect tool for Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd), a mid-level financial executive who curries favor with his implacable boss Lance Fender (Bruce Greenwood) when he manages to sell a Swiss billionaire on the idea of turning defective bombs into effective, yet unattractive, lamps. Fender is impressed and invites Tim to an annual dinner party at his mansion, a "Dinner for Winners" in which the purpose is for each guest to bring the biggest idiot they can find. The guest with the most entertaining idiot wins a trophy.

    The journey getting to that dinner party mostly involves Tim trying to survive Barry's idiocy. He has a way of saying and doing the most outrageous things while maintaining a demeanor that lets us believe that he hasn't the slightest clue that his behavior is the least bit odd, even his hobby of making cute dioramas with dead mice.

    The first half of the film is genuinely funny, as it observes Barry and his world as he looks out with wide eyes, a goofy smile. Yet, the rest of the movie is spotty. Once we get to know Barry, the movie tries to mix a riot of slapstick comedy with moments of sentimentality that are mostly made up of half-baked speeches about the value of friendship.

    The third act gets the film back on track somewhat as we finally arrive at that dinner party. What works are the simple observations about Barry and the other morons in attendance (one of whom is Jeff Dunham who is in a marital spat with one of his dummies). Those characters are funny but the scene goes overboard with a very long battle involving Barry and a nitwit mind-reader named Thurman Munch (Zach Galifianakis) who wears Dickies over his shirts and has a self-satisfied autobiography called "Your Mind Is My Puppet". The scene quickly spirals into a very bizarre area reminiscent of some of Monty Python's lesser sketches.

    Steve Carrell is the the entire reason for seeing 'Dinner for Schmucks'. His wonderful performance is pitch perfect, playing a lovable dolt who genuinely believes what he says, even when he confesses to Tim that the reason his wife left his that "I lost her clitoris". To see the deadpan look in his eyes is to understand that Barry believes this statement completely. It is also possibly to understand why his wife really left him.

    *** (of four)
    helpful•23
    14
    • The_Film_Cricket
    • Mar 24, 2011

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 30, 2010 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Anh Bạn Siêu Ngốc
    • Filming locations
      • Westlake Village, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Dreamworks Pictures
      • Spyglass Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $69,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $73,026,337
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $23,527,839
      • Aug 1, 2010
    • Gross worldwide
      • $86,855,739
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 54 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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