Dinner For Schmucks (2010)

It's funny how one actor as funny as Steve Carell can have so many okay-to-good movies come out in one year. Date Night, Despicable Me and now Dinner For Schmucks. I will say that this was right in the middle of the pack.

Tim (Paul Rudd) works as a mid-level employee who thinks he's finally got an idea to put him one floor up and with the hot shots. He manages to impress his boss, but not enough to immediately promote him. First, he invites Tim to a monthly dinner all the executives have where the goal is to bring the stupidest person they can find. Tim reluctantly agrees, but isn't sure where to find an "idiot." Then, he hits Barry (Carell) with his car. He finds Barry to be the perfect person to bring to the party. Soon enough, he realizes that Barry, while dimwitted and a bit slow, is a well-intentioned person with a lot of heart. Will Tim be able to go through with the dinner now?

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It wasn't great by any means, but it was a solid comedy with great supporting hilarity from Zach Galfianakis and Jemaine Clement. Carell was basically playing a dumber version of Michael Scott from "The Office," but it still managed to feel original enough to not get lost in that. I recommend it, but don't expect genius level comedy. Grade: B-

Despicable Me (2010)

This movie was a lot better than I thought it was going to be, but it was just a good flick. It's a perfect family movie with some great voice work and yet, it falls a bit short for the adults.

Gru (Steve Carell) was once a great super villain. His work, while good, is often expensive and with little payoff to the people who bankroll his evil endeavors. After an up-and-coming super villain named Vector (Jason Segel) gains international acclaim by stealing the Great Pyramid, and the bankroller has decided to back him, Gru has to thwart Vector's new found success by stealing his newly acquired shrink ray. After many failed attempts by Gru, three orphans selling cookies manage to get into Vector's house. What's an evil villain to do? Why, adopt the orphans, of course. He sees them as a means to an ends in getting back the notoriety he once had. However, as time wears on, he finds himself becoming more and more attached to them. Will his evil handywork then begin to suffer as a result of his newly formed feelings?

I really like the idea of an anti-hero hero in kids movie like this but, as an adult, I thought the story was way too fast moving and I have no idea how any of the orphans or Gru became so attached so fast. The audience should be able to feel it as well, and I didn't. That being said, this is a great kids movie. Kids will love Gru's Minions and their nonsensical chattering and I did enjoy the action in the movie. Don't expect anything great, but I do say see it. Grade: B

Date Night (2010)

If this had been any other lead actors, this movie would have failed miserably. However, Tina Fey and Steve Carell were just funny enough to save this from being a complete wreck.

Phil and Claire Foster (Carell and Fey) are just your normal workaday couple who live in suburban New Jersey. Every Friday night, the babysitter comes over and the parents go on a their date night. One week, after seeing their friend's marriage crumble, they stir things up a bit and go to the swanky new restaurant in Manhattan. When they can't get a table, they steal someone's reservation. When two thugs accost them about something they've stolen, the Fosters now realize they probably shouldn't have taken the Tripplehorns spot. After evading the thugs, the couple are now running for their lives in a city they barely visit outside of work. They're going to need help, but don't know where to turn. Personally, I'd consider that to be a good date.

As I mentioned, Carell and Fey save this movie. I'd like to think they knew the script wasn't that strong because there were a lot of improvised scenes in the movie and those tended to be very funny. The supporting cast did what they could. Mark Wahlberg, Taraji Henson, Common, Leighton Meester and Ray Liotta (who seems to be in everything lately) all try their best with their characters. I can't totally recommend this, but fans of the comedians will get a kick out of this.