Star-Studded Comedy Gives Paul Rudd His Funniest Role, Stream Without Netflix

Dinner For Schmucks was written by the comedy screenwriting duo of David Guion and Michael Handelman, who also collaborated on projects such as 2006’s The Ex, 2014’s Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, and 2022’s Slumberland. Austin Powers filmmaker Jay Roach directed the cult classic comedy, which is loosely based on a French film titled Le Dîner de Cons, which literally translates to The Dinner of Idiots.

Steve Carrell stars opposite Rudd, with an additional cast of comedy legends including Zach Galifianakis, Jemaine Clement, Bruce Greenwood, Larry Wilmore, Randall Park, Nick Kroll, and Tulsa King‘s Andrea Savage.

The narrative of Dinner For Schmucks centers on a hedge fund investor named Tim Conrad (Rudd), who attempts to move up the corporate ladder by landing a massive client for his firm. As he begins cozying up to his boss and the other top-level executives, Tim is invited to an annual dinner held at his boss’ home, wherein each guest is tasked with bringing an idiot to be made fun of. This bizarre and cruel social ritual disgusts Tim at first, though he begins to warm up to the idea after a chance encounter with an infantile but well-meaning man named Barry Speck (Carell).

As Tim and Barry become more closely acquainted, Barry begins to destroy Tim’s life through a series of obtuse errors in judgment. In just 24 hours, Tim’s long-time girlfriend leaves him, his stalker destroys his car and apartment, and his promotion, which seemed like a sure thing, begins to wither as he weighs the ethical ramifications of attending the titular dinner party.

Dinner For Schmucks may not have been a critical darling or a massive pop-culture moment, but if you grew up watching middle-of-the-road comedies on daytime cable like I did, you’ll know that this may as well have been The Force Awakens for Comedy Central super-fans.

Steve Carrell rightfully got a ton of credit for bringing the absurd character of Barry Speck to life in Dinner For Schmucks, though Paul Rudd’s hilariously dry straight-laced performance is what sells the entire movie. Rudd manages to make the off-the-walls situations feel extremely real while still getting to be a part of the insanity with a few well-executed set-pieces.

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One of the key differences between Dinner For Schmucks and the original French film is Tim’s vulnerability, which is expertly woven throughout the narrative by Rudd’s acting choices.

If you’re interested in catching Dinner For Schmucks, the film can be streamed today on Pluto TV.