Dinner for Schmucks

Goolphipp Award: 3.4 (See the Cheap Matinee)

Goolsby:

At my request, this was my birthday movie. Goolphipp and a group of friends all went together, and I was by far that most excited and entertained person in the theater. I was really excited to see Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and Zach Galifianakis all on the same screen. Turns out, when all was said and done, my friends were not too stoked about the movie afterwards. This movie is quirk, to the max. I am quirk, to the max. Match made in heaven? Pretty much.

This movie is all about the dinner, but it takes a while to get there of course. I was prepared for this, and although it felt slow on getting to the dinner, I was okay with the necessary plot building that had to take place.

Carell plays Barry, a Mouseterpiece maker, he is a schmuck, and I will not deny that I did feel sad for him. Goodness, the character is such a pathetic case it almost hurts. Rudd plays Tim, the up and coming business man who befriends Barry. By the end of the movie you get to see who the real schmucks are.

Some scenes to watch for - Barry's fighting technique is to "play-dead" and of course it works every time! I was by far the loudest person laughing in the theater. All the scenes with Jermaine Clement (from Flight of the Concords), who plays Kieran the animalistic-artist, are hilarious. When Kieran and Barry share a bench and talk about life, all the while with Kieran sporting ram horns, it is pure classic genius. I loved it.

This movie had heart, and I knew that it would. In life, you've got all types of creatures, good, bad, mean, strange, and sometimes fantastic. This movie shows all walks of life. And yes, I most likely will eventually own this movie. This movie may not stick with you like some Thanksgiving feast meal, but you can't deny that food is food. The laughs flow free during this movie, and that can't be overlooked.

Just so you know, this film is based on a french film by Francis Verber called Le diner de cons (The Dinner Game). I have not seen this film, but according to others, the actual dinner is never shown in the film.

Goolsby overall: 4

That is a real live vulture featured in the dinner scenes. Real. As in, could have eaten out someone's eyes. Talk about filming dangers.

Phipps:

I am not as enthusiastic about this film like Goolsby. I was curious to see Carell, Rudd, and Galifianakis on screen. And it was pretty funny. However, the character Kieran (played by Jermain Clement) stole the show. The play on eccentric, sex god artist was amazing. When I think of all the memorable moments in this movie, he is in at least 80% of them: dressed up like a fawn, wearing horns, or being completely arrogant. There were a bunch of solid jokes along the way - the play dead, mouseterpieces, Kieran - but the way to dinner just dragged out. I lost patience with it a couple of times. When we finally got to the dinner, I laughed for the last fifteen minutes. As a whole, I think this is a Netflix movie. Something to watch on a lazy Friday night. It was just okay on all the levels - except perhaps the mouse taxidermy, which was oddly cool. For the record, they did not use the word "schmuck" once. What the heck. That's the bloody title, and you didn't use it once. "Idiot" just doesn't have the same punch as "schmuck."

Phipps overall: 2.75

Meh...a few funny moments.

The Hangover

Goolphipp Award: 4.3

Audience: College +

Goolsby: It’s a bachelor party set in Vegas, so nudity, drinking, drugs, gambling, and more is guaranteed. I think is more of a guy movie, but I loved it and I’m a girl.

Phipps: No one under 17. Parents, I don’t want to see your 12-year-old son in this movie! It’s not appropriate. For adults in the world, it was unexpectedly funny…and it wasn’t as raunchy as I thought it would be. In fact, the worse nudity/drinking/gambling (the general crazy Vegas behavior that offends) is featured as the credits roll, and you see images of what really happened the night before. Watch out for that if you’re a bit more conservative.

Storyline: Flashback treasure hunt
A bachelor party gone wrong– bachelor is missing. The storyline uses flashbacks to tell the story. Their ultimate goal the wedding.

Phipps: Inventive storyline, I thought. Simple, fresh, and totally ripe for hilarious happenings! Brings together all the strangeness of people getting a little too tossed in Vegas. This is one instance where you have to dredge up what happened in Vegas!

Where’s the Humor: Non-stop fast lane freeway

Phipps: The guy with the missing tooth, played by Ed Helms, stole my heart. It was reported that Ed Helms is actually missing a tooth, and had the fake, implant tooth removed for the filming. Yes, yes…it was really gone. Warms my heart. There was a good variety of humor over all, which surprised me. I expected it to be on the crass side the entire time, and was pleased that there was plenty of physical comedy and witty one-liners to balance.

Goolsby: I could not stop laughing the whole time. If it wasn’t one thing it was another. The character Alan, played by Zach Galifianakis, was ridiculously random. Alan is the weird brother in-law that sports a wolf print t-shirt and a man purse. Love it. There was plenty of physical comedy, as well as dry humor too. All the way to the end, including the credits, I was smirking or laughing about something. The story about the missing tooth is pure classic. And who steals a lion?!

Delivery: Sharp and quick

Goolsby: The character of Phil played by Bradley Cooper, is point on. He’s the arrogant jerk you just have to like. Not to mention he’s a looker, who looks cherry-up in a suit. Everyone did a really good job. They delivered their lines convincingly throughout. Everyone kept to their character personalities. I hope, hope, hope that there is a blooper reel on the DVD.

Phipps: Funny men committing to off-the-wall characters! I know this was a stretch for Bradley Cooper, who always pulls off the “jerk” role, but it was nice to see that he has some comedic timing too! Mr. Zach Galifianakis stole the show, hands down. It was a breakout performance for him.

Phipps overall: 4
Solid 4. I’m not partial to the comedies, especially those on the crass side, but this movie did win me over.

Goolsby overall: 4.75
As far as adult humor goes, this is up there with the best of em’. It will definitely be added to my collection when it comes out on DVD.

Goolphipp award: 4.3 (No peanuts chucked)

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