Poster Schmoster

The 'Dinner for Schmucks' promo team is having a bit of trouble connecting with the right energy for their poster. Finding the core, so to speak. The first attempt drew some criticism. I said:

...tries a little too hard. Rudd is a bit on-the-nose with the OMG thing -- we get it. Carell enthusiastically channels Jerry Lewis. Is that a good thing?

The guys at heyuguys thought:

Blimey.

The thought of seeing this poster in a public place makes me fear for the welfare of our citizens.

Meanwhile, over at MSN, the line was:

...I'm excited for this, even if the one sheet scares the crud out of me, and I'm going to be seeing this thing on busses and billboards above the Sizzler down the street from me for months.

Filmjunk chimed in:

Carell and Rudd look like pedophiles on the poster

The consensus seemed to be -- yikes!...pass. 'Scary'. I read that a few times.

Carell is frightening. Look at him. Would you want to pass that on the stairs? If stupid was a weapon his character would be dangerous. Your gaze locks on his googly-eyed grinning countenance as if he was a threat not to be taken lightly. Vapid, but dangerous. You want to look away but cannot. It's like the rest of the poster isn't even there -- doesn't exist. Disturbing.

So, possibly in response to the less than subtle commentary, Paramount was quick to release this version:

Yes. Much better. Not scary at all. Really. I mean that. Oh, and look -- Carell and Rudd have the same color eyes...

It just isn't working. Teaser-Trailer says:

Steve Carell looks like a rat on that poster of Dinner for Schmucks!

'Looks like a rat'. The star of the movie resembles a rodent. A big dumb scary rodent.

Way to go, guys. Recommend you put on a pot of coffee and get back to work. The release date has been pushed back a week, so...you've got some time.