Dinner for Schmucks is a remake of the French movie which, lamentably, is far superior. It was sweet and nasty at the same time. This one's basically silly and it's really a disappointment, especially if you've seen the first one. They just throw everything including the kitchen sink in and Steve Carell is certainly a cute actor, but he's playing the same part over and over again. It's that same wide-eyed silly part that he played in the 40-Year-Old Virgin. Paul Rudd has a little bit more versatility. He's become a better actor and he has a little bit more to do in this, but he's still playing the role of the nice guy, kind of sweet with a nasty undertone. The only scene that's really worth seeing is the dinner party. In it, Paul, in order to get a promotion, has to indulge in some sadism by bringing a horrible person to the dinner and then make fun of them. The dinner party itself has a certain je ne sais quoi to it but the rest of the movie has a ce quoi to it, like nothing. I give it two stars, but that's mostly for the dinner party.

Joy Meter: 2