Studio Execs are Schmucks

Lets begin with the title, DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS, which is a complete misnomer. The only schmucks in the movie are the people hosting the dinner. A dinner that is referred to repeatedly as one for idiots. So i have to wonder, why did they keep the French title???? To be provocative? For continuity? Because of an underlying message that weirdos aren't schmucks, because schmucks are really jerks (like the supposed "normal" people)? If that's the case then I went a long way for a theme that is stupid and doesn't belong in a movie with a ton of comedians. Just make a movie that says be nice to people. Ugh
Anyway, the movie itself is a cringe-athon that ends with enough sappiness to ruin 100 pancakes. The cringes come in awkwardly forced moments that aren't plausible and therefore are almost completely devoid of humor. This is referring to all the staged gags and not the riffs that are obviously the product of the all-star cast.
This is the case with Kristen Schaal who dominates every scene she's in. It is almost sad to watch Rudd play it straight along side her when you know he could go toe to toe with her if given the freedom to use his strengths. Schaal's FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS co-star, Jermaine, doesn't fare as well in the movie. His character is too much of a gimmick and he's constantly trying to fulfill the terrible creation of some writer somewhere, when in reality he could probably have ad libbed his part with better results.
As for Steve Carell's idiot in the movie, he is more mentally challenged than anything else. He means well, but can't really function at a typical level. Isn't that like the definition of the nice retarded people you meet? (Editor's Note: Dave is allowed to write idiotic things like this because he is obviously retarded. Couldn't you tell?)
Carell is likable enough in the movie, to the point where I felt myself rooting against Paul Rudd. This was a strange feeling considering Rudd could play Osama Bin Laden and probably generate a fair amount of empathy from me. In this role he's just dirty and pathetic, the kind of anti-hero that doesn't deserve a happy ending.
Unfortunately this is a very Hollywood movie and Rudd gets his hollywood ending. Ultimately, this is the downfall of the movie, which is elevated to mediocre standing by an All-Star cast. Honestly, Galifianakis, Schaal and Carell provide the movie with real credibility. At the same time, though, I think some producer got the idea of cramming the movie with types and characters that the movie felt very formulaic and is if they were throwing everything in the book at us.
Essentially I didn't care about this movie. That's not a major flaw in a comedy, but my general apathy kept me from even following this movie. It couldn't hold my attention and didn't warrant many chuckles.
After seeing this movie I felt like a schmuck for having such high hopes.
Finally, maybe this is a crazy idea, but what if the roles were reversed? It seems predictable to me the way the movie was cast. A reversal of the kind PINEAPPLE EXPRESS executed might have put us off balance enough to break this formulaic movie.