Dinner for Schmucks

[Babychoby]

It looked ok until the glass started breaking. Still, it looks better than I expected when I read about it but I don't think any good can come of it. However, Paul Rudd makes me feel like I did when I was thirteen and crushing so hard on River Pheonix I thought I'd explode so I'll probably end up watching it anyway.

[BillBrasky]

Trailer #2

[AstroChicken]

I happen to be from Quebec and French is my first language. I have seen the original. Now for each french movie I've seen in my life, I probably watched about 50 american movies. So it's not like I'm a french cinema buff or anything remotely close to that.

That being said, Le Dîner de Cons is one of my favorite comedies of all time. I'm not sure an anglophone could appreciate its true value when watching a subtitled version though because comedy loses so much in translation.

Regarding Dinner for Schmucks, I think it's cool that they're making it and Paul Rudd and Steve Carell are certainly logical picks for the two roles (I'm afraid Carell will not be as nuanced as Jacques Villeret but then again the whole movie will probably have a more over-the-top tone). The trailer makes it seem like a decent-to-good flick but part of me is sad that most people may never realize just how brilliantly funny Le Dîner de Cons is.

The best example to display the difference between the two flicks might be the titular dinner. In the french version, they never actually make it to the dinner. François' baffling idiocy simply leads Pierre deeper and deeper into what becomes the most nightmarish day of his life. And just when the story seems headed to a typical "idiot teaches jerk important thing" morale, the movie flips it on you (I won't give away the ending).

Mmm, did not expect my post to be this lenghty. I hope I didn't sound too much like a snob. I know Americans are capable of producing comedies that are just as brilliant as Le Dîner de Cons. Just wanted to give a francophone's perspective on the remake, which I'm sure will turn out entertaining whether it lives up to the original or not.

[semisorick]

Everything I said.

I completely agree and actually think that if they were going to remake this they should've kept it as close as possible to the original, which feels more like a play than a movie.

[Itslikeimsayin]

Behind-the-scenes Photo Gallery on LATimes.com

[lorianddori]

I thought the hangover was really just a remake of the film bachelor party except for the fact that zach was in it and he singlehandedly made it one of the funniest movies ever. I never thought zach and jeff dunham would appear in the same movie together but it does look interesting. I also like that america's sweetheart kristen schall is in it because she is one of the only three women in the world that's funny. that would be schall, bamford, and mo'nique.

[nadsat droog]

You're going places, lorianddori.

[Interruptor Jones]

It's still a hell of a thing to see Steve Carrell go from what he was doing on The Daily Show to being the big star he is now. I know it was a while ago that he became a movie star, but "Produce Pete" almost always pops into my head when I see him in trailers.

[A Shot Glass of Humor]

Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, Jermaine Clement, and in the trailer, I saw Ron Livingston, and Larry Wilmore. Could something with this many funny people be bad? Maybe if everybody is wasted or the best stuff was left on the cutting room floor.

But in a summer so scarce with good films, I'm looking forward to this.

[BillBrasky]

Fabrice Fabrice Interviews Steve Carell from Steve Carell

[SlyBattery]

Kieran Vollard Talks to Rabbits from Jemaine Clement

[BillBrasky]

Surprised this hasn't been posted yet:

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Steve Carell from Between Two Ferns

[stevenac]

Saw this movie last night at midnight. I was very pleasantly surprised. I laughed consistently throughout the movie. There was some cheesy stuff, but there were a lot of good moments. Also, the female lead is extremely attractive. That was a nice addition.

[BillBrasky]

This movie's pretty silly. If it weren't for one needless use of the F-word late in the film, it could almost have been a kid's movie. All the performances are very cartoony and over the top. It does become a little tiring after a while- Carell is over the top, Lucy Punch who plays Rudd's stalker ex-girlfriend is extremely over the top, Jemaine plays a very weird character, Zach is hammier than usual, etc. After a while all the zaniness starts to seem a little forced.

It's not a bad movie though, and near the end it actually becomes kind of sweet. You really start to care about and like Carell's character. So while this movie isn't hilarious by any means, it leaves you with a nice pleasant feeling and it's worth seeing for the mice dioramas alone.

[aenemaTron]

Couldn't we just look at still photos of the dioramas?

[rabbitandox]

Why did they keep telling me that it is morally disgusting to laugh at schmucks, and also invite me to laugh at the schmucks?

[shig]

Yet ANOTHER remake of something foreign so us stupid Americans don't have to read subtitles. Wonderful. All that in addition to Steve (why the fuck does everyone love him so much) Carell. At least Kristen Schaal is in it for 5 or 6 seconds though.

[thecomedian]

I was laughing hysterically at this one. Sure it's no Hangover but it helps make up for the lack of adult comedies this summer.

[scamboogah]

Steve (why the fuck does everyone love him so much) Carell.

I love him because he's a very gifted comedic actor, and always makes me laugh in everything he's done. I know, not a very good reason.

[Fentmore]

Movie was alright with some really funny stuff and some overly-sachrine "learn something" tripe stuff. Couple of my favorite moments:

Jemaine: "Have you ever just left everything behind to live... for five months... with the goats, being with them and living like one of them?"
Carrell: "..no..."
Jemaine: "That surprises me." (deadpan - as if it was a normal thing to ask)

Zach's face turning bright red and then the color fading in slowly like some weird special efect.

"You eat my pudding" was so cruel when the meaning gets revealed a couple minutes later. So cruel.

The stalker was way to over the top. Carrell kept his character realistic for the most part and believable, he did a really good job. Zach was a bit over the top. Schaal was good. Jemaine was great. Paul Rudd was as needed. I enjoyed it but I could see it being much better (the weirdos vs the stiffs ending just doesn't work beyond an afterschool special type of "be nice to people who are different"). Like Rudd's character would really throw away his promotion not to mention his career at that company over something as silly as Carrell's character's (essentially a stranger's) feelings (which weren't even that hurt anyway)?