A sneering French comedy (Francis Veber's Le Dîner de Cons) is given the Hollywood treatment here, and the results aren't pretty. That's despite the pairing of Paul Rudd and Steve Carell, who are both naturally likeable but, under the direction of Jay Roach (Meet the Parents), come across as totally obnoxious. Rudd plays Tim, a corporate type hoping for promotion when he accepts an invitation to dinner at the boss's house. The cruel catch is that guests must bring along someone who will unwittingly provide the after-dinner entertainment - to see who is the biggest idiot. As if this wasn't off-putting enough, Carell plays Barry (Tim's hapless plus-one) like a borderline psychopath. He's a taxidermist obsessed with dead mice, but finds a new pastime in turning Tim's world upside down ahead of the big dinner. Alas, the script is just as topsy-turvy, strung together with random gags drawn out to excruciating length, which waste the talents of comedians such as David Walliams, who pops up as a businessman with a silly accent. The result is a dog's dinner.

Rising executive Tim Conrad works for a boss who hosts a monthly dinner in which the guest who brings the biggest buffoon gets a career-boost. Tim plans on not attending until he meets Barry, a man who builds dioramas using stuffed mice. Barry's blundering but good intentions send Tim's life into a downward spiral, threatening a major business deal and possibly scuttling Tim's engagement to his fiancee.