Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

When the first line of a comedy is “Poor Jacobson, they took his stapler”, it already has done something good in my book with this obvious reference to Office Space. Although this movie doesn’t have any similarities to it, the tone has been set. Paul Rudd is Tim, an analyst who is trying hard to move up the corporate ladder. During a meeting he gives a presentation which catches the eye of higher management and gets the chance to realise his dream.

There is a small precondition though. His boss regularly organizes dinners where everyone has to bring a guest along. These are not normal guests, but people with a “special gift”. It turns out that his boss expects everyone to invite the biggest losers they can find. The person who has the biggest one wins a prize. Although Tim really does not want to join this dinner, he doesn’t want to throw away his chance to play in the big league. Continue reading

Date Night (2010)

Phil (Steve Carell) and Claire (Tina Fey) Foster have been married for many years. They work very hard and have two kids. After all these years the excitement of their marriage is starting to disappear. Even their weekly date night is not that special anymore as they go out to eat at the same restaurant and are home again before ten o’clock. When they hear that some close friends of theirs are splitting up, Phil decides to do something different on their date night. They head for Manhattan to eat at a very trendy restaurant, which Claire has been wanting to eat at for ages. When they arrive they find out that the restaurant is so popular that you a reservation has to be made months in advance. Phil does not want to go and decides to pretend he’s someone else when a name of another couple is called and no one responds. While they are enjoying the excellent food they are approached by two men who ask them to step outside as they need something from them. This is the start for a fun (and exciting) comedy Continue reading