What ultimately surprised me about this comedy is how sweet it is underneath the prickly premise. Based on a more scathing French film called The Dinner Game (1998), this Dinner has been toned down a bit for American audiences but it still has a bit of bite.

Paul Rudd plays Tim, a mild mannered businessman trying to get a promotion at work. He has earned the promotion but is forced to deal with typical office politics in order to seal the deal. He is horrified to find out that the good old boys at the office partake in a monthly dinner party in which each man brings the biggest idiot they can find to amuse the masses. They ask Tim to join them in a few days, promising that if he can find such a person, the job is all his.

Tim wrestles with the moral dilemma he faces. He’s visibly disgusted with the whole idea, but he really, really wants the job. He has been trying to get his beautiful girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) to succumb to his marriage proposal, and he believes that if he is financially secure she’ll be more likely to take the plunge.

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Back in April, we brought you the first trailer for the upcoming comedy Dinner for Schmucks starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. We didn’t know much about it, but what we saw, we loved. Now we’re getting more footage in a full trailer, and it looks like it has potential to be one of the top comedies of the year.

The film comes from director Jay Roach, who brought us the first Meet the Parents films and the first two Austin Powers films. Basically, the premise is about up-and-coming executive Tim (Rudd) who needs to impress his co-workers and bosses by bringing the weirdest guest, played by Carell, to their annual dinner.

Not only will the film bring together Carell and Rudd for the first time, but will also throw in a few other comedic favorites such as Zach Galifiniakis, Ron Livingston, Jeff Dunham, and Flight of the Conchord’s Jemaine Clement. The newest trailer gives us a bit more of the epic “mind battle” between Galifiniakis and Carell, and some more awkward momest of Carell as the unfomfortable “Barry”.

Check out the new trailer after the jump, and be sure to catch Dinner for Schmucks when it hits theaters on July 23rd.

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While Steve Carell is doing his tour of major talk shows and appearances in preparation for this weekend’s release of Date Night, the first trailer for his next big comedy has just hit the web: Dinner For Schmucks.

The film also stars Paul Rudd, who’s been on a hot streak with comedies as well such as I Love You, Man, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Role Models. The screenplay comes from about a dozen different writers, including the creator of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Andy Borowitz. Here’s the official synopsis.

Tim (Rudd) is a guy on the verge of having it all. The only thing standing between him and total career success is finding the perfect guest to bring to his boss’ annual Dinner for Extraordinary People, an event where the winner of the evening brings the most eccentric character as his guest. Enter Barry (Carell), a guy with a passion for dressing mice up in tiny outfits to recreate great works of art.

Jay Roach is stepping in as director, who we know as the director for all of the Austin Powers and Meet The Parents films. Check out the trailer after the jump, and be sure to catch Dinner For Schmucks in theaters July 23rd.

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