Dinner for Schmucks - Review

A remake of the french film "The Dinner Game" and our very own version "Bheja Fry", classic comedians Steve Carell and Paul Rudd come together in this mad comic caper.
Does director Jay Roach of spin the same madness as the Austin Powers/Meet the parents series?
Sadly, the film starts off on the right note but eventually looses steam.

For those who haven't seen the classic Bheja fry, this is the story.
Tim(Paul Rudd) has some brilliant ideas at work and needs to impress his boss. He gets invited to a private monthly dinner at the boss's house which has a theme, "dinner for idiots". The person who is accompanied by the biggest schmuck is the toast of the dinner. A driving accident helps Tim finds Barry(Carell), a lonesome IRS official who has a weird hobby of taxiderming mice, making them wear tiny costumes and creating a rodent world in shoeboxes. After inviting Barry for the dinner, Tim realizes that he is probably going to end up regretting this decision. What follows is a night of mayhem which involves crazy characters such as Darla the stalker, Kieran the self-obsessed painter & Therman the mind-control freak amongst others.

The first half of the film is a scene-by-scene take from Bheja Fry, which in turn was a straight lift of the French original. It is hilarious and keeps you engrossed. The addition is the second half, where the film takes on its own path. Had it been trimmed by 25 min, it would be a riot.

The performances are superb. Steve Carell is simply a joy to watch, emoting beautifully, The Office star is in full form. Paul Rudd is restrained and does justice. The smaller characters are well etched, especially Zach Galifianakis of Hangover fame and Jemaine Clement as Kieran.

Jay Roach doesn't quite create the magic of his earlier films. While Austin Powers was completely over-the-top and mindless, it was thoroughly enjoyable. Meet the Parents/Fockers too had its own flavour which Schmucks doesn't quite capture.

For a weekend which carries the much-awaited action film "The Expendables" and Aamir Khan's "Peepli Live", this one might be forgotten. While its a light hearted entertainer, one can safely relegate this to a DVD watch.

Rating: 3/5