Australian Penthouse

Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, Jemaine Clement, Stephanie Szostak, Lucy Punch, Bruce Greenwood, Ron Livingston

PARAMOUNT

Review: Dave Kozicki

It’s been a while between drinks for director Jay Roach, who makes a triumphant return to comedy with Dinner for Schmucks. Best known for the Austin Powers and Meet the Parents franchises, his more recent work has been a bit of a departure, most notably the brilliant (and Golden Globe-winning) made-for-TV movie Recount, driven by Kevin Spacey, Laura Dern and Denis Leary, that details the aftermath of the 2000 US Presidential election.

Dinner for Schmucks is a loose remake of the 1998 French film Le Diner de Cons, written and directed by Francis Veber, and tells the tale of executive-on-the-rise Tim (I Love You, Man’s Rudd) who has just secured a dinner invitation to his elitist boss’s monthly ridiculing of the weird and wonderful. Each employee must bring along a guest with a unique “gift” or hobby for the group to take the piss out of under the guise of a friendly competition. A successful candidate leads to a fast-tracked promotion, whereas failure can end in dismissal.

Tim’s long-standing girlfriend, art curator Julie (Szostak), finds this road to success reprehensible and convinces him not to take part. Until, that is, fate intervenes and the oddity Barry (Carell) literally drops into Tim’s lap. The wildly eccentric and damaged Barry is a taxidermist who recreates pivotal moments in human history (and his failed marriage) via mice-laden dioramas. Considering this a sign, and too good an opportunity to pass up, Tim invites Barry to the dinner as his companion and the comic misadventures begin.

Rudd barely breaks a sweat as a variation of the same character he’s played effectively in his last half dozen or so films. Carell, on the other hand, is wildly unnerving as the well-intentioned but ultimately disastrous Barry, a mesh of Anchorman’s Brick Tamland and the grating Michael Scott from the US version of The Office. Quite possibly insane, he has a smile both eerie and endearing, oozes awkwardness from every pore and is as helpful as nails down a chalkboard.

Though ultimately formulaic, Dinner for Schmucks is surprisingly hilarious. It’s littered with laugh-out-loud moments, but the biggest treat is the outstanding performance of Flight Of The Conchords’ Clement as douchebag artiste Kieran, who has his sights firmly set on Julie. Mirroring Russell Brand’s take on rock star Aldous Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Clement’s comic timing is pure genius, crafting a character that is initially offensive, yet amazing and unforgettable, and stealing each and every scene from his comedic heavyweight co-stars.

Far funnier than it should be on premise alone, Dinner for Schmucks is touching, heartfelt, groan-inducing and cringe-worthy. Filled with familiar faces, it’s a return to awkward comedy that doesn’t need to drop the f-bomb every three seconds to generate a giggle.

Dinner for Schmucks opens nationally on September 28.