Mice & Men

Well I saw a early screening of the new movie Dinner for Schmucks starring Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd.  If you like total nonsense--and I mean that in a good way--then this movie is for you.  Carrell is Barry who is a socially inept taxidermist who makes detailed dioramas using dead mice for a living--he calls them "mousterpieces."  (I feel sorry for the people who had to make these dioramas, they must have taken hours.  But they did look kind of neat).  Rudd plays Tim who is trying to climb the corporate ladder.  To impress his boss, Tim agrees to go to a dinner where he is supposed to bring an idiot as a guest so that all the company guys can make fun.  The company man who brings the best idiot wins.  When Tim meets Barry by happenstance, Tim believes he's found his idiot and absurdity ensues. Sounds morally reprehensible, but it makes a hilarious story. In addition to Barry, there are many other off-the-wall characters, particularly Jermaine Clement as Kieran and Zach Galinfanakis as Therman, who contribute to the laughs.  It's not a masterpiece but  just good unadulterated fun.  You'll never think of the word "pudding" in the same way.