Cedar Rapids (2011)

Director Miguel Arteta has a knack for capturing the endearing eccentricities of Middle America. You can see it in his television work, in shows like Freaks and Geeks and The Office. But it’s even more evident in his film career, where the likes of Chuck and Buck, The Good Girl and Youth in Revolt bolster his resume. Whereas the majority of pop culture tends to focus on the accessibility of city life and suburban dreams, Arteta’s work mines the people, stories and towns that slip through the cracks. There’s something honest and sort of charming in that choice… something peculiar and engaging.

Due Date (2010)

Due Date is not an enjoyable movie, and for a comedy that’s a huge problem. Essentially a Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) re-hash, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Peter Highman, an uptight, soon-to-be family man traveling cross country with an overweight oaf named Ethan Tremblay, and played by Zach Galifianakis. There are no trains involved, but you’ll find many of the same jokes and stabs at masculine endearment, as well as the jerk-idiot dynamic most recently updated in Dinner for Schmucks (2010). But the story’s familiarity and repetitive nature are problems good movies can overcome… and Due Date doesn’t.

Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

After viewing director Jay Roach’s Dinner for Schmucks, The Movie Gal dubbed the comedy “the most bipolar movie” she’d ever seen, and that essentially sums it up – Schmucks is hilariously malicious, the kind of film that beats its characters to a pulp, then points its finger and laughs. You’re supposed to be laughing too, but you may also find yourself shying away, averting your eyes while Schmucks continues to elbow you in the ribs, and laugh obnoxiously in your ear.

It’s an awkward and manipulative comedy style that star Steve Carell is quite familiar with, having traversed these volatile comedic waters in The 40 Year Old Virgin and the earlier seasons of The Office. And quite frankly, it is a brand that suits him well. Carell has a unique knack for empathetic, erstwhile annoyance. He’s the kind of man who can play an absolute idiot, and still manage to keep you on his side. And that’s exactly what he needed to do to make Schmucks a winner.