‘Dinner for Schmucks’ – Idiot’s delight

Clearly there’s little Steve Carell can’t do.

The unctuous boss on “The Office” who won our hearts as the over-ripe “Virgin” plays it stupid, really stupid, in the new comedy “Dinner for Schmucks.”

Carell teams up with Paul Rudd, the best straight man currently employed in Hollywood, for a comedy that succeeds despite its numbskull intentions.

It’s the kind of role Jim Carrey would masticate until only tiny particles of the film set remained. But Carell finds the balance between stupidity and sweetness that lets the movie soar even when it runs out of inspiration – which is often.

Rudd stars as Tim, an executive on the cusp of a much needed promotion. All he has to do is go to a dinner party thrown by his imperious boss (Bruce Greenwood).

The catch? Each guest must bring an idiot to the affair – or a schmuck, if you will, even though the film never utters that word. These upper crust types like to mock the less fortunate.

The concept appalls Tim. But the thought of missing that promotion hurts even worse.

So when he stumbles upon a local simpleton named Barry (Carell) he invites him to the dinner party.

“Dinner for Schmucks” bum-rushes us with zany supporting characters, from Tim’s ditzy assistant (Kristen Schaal) to a self-satisfied artist (Jemaine Clement) with designs on Tim’s girl.

And then there’s Therman (Zach Galifianakis), Barry’s boss and a “master” of mind control. The “Hangover” standout shows a new spectrum of funny here, stealing a few scenes from some pretty talented peers.

The film’s plot is stretched and pulled and massaged to fit all the gags in, and the strain routinely shows. The dinner in question doesn’t pay off as expected, even though Carell and Galifianakis bring more than enough chuckles to make the scene work.

Director Jay Roach, a competent craftsman in films like “Meet the Parents,”‘ raises his game here to match the players. The comic timing is Swiss like, making throwaway gags into howlers. And the best supporting player is the behind the scenes specialist who created the mouse-terpieces Barry’s character creates in his spare time.

Those visual gags never wear out their welcome.

“Dinner for Schmucks” isn’t for the silly-impaired. It’s ridiculousy through and through, but those willing to put up with plenty of tomfoolery will laugh – hard – from beginning to end.