The previews for this one had disaster written all over it. I've never been so relieved to be so wrong.

So yeah, Carell reprises his usual role of "awkward goofball," but despite that, I actually liked every character in the movie for one reason or another, which is a rare treat for me. The "white people problems" / interpersonal bullshit is kept to a merciful simmer and mostly stays out of the way of the comedy. The titular dinner is almost an afterthought, fortunately - everything leading up to it is absolute gold, and the whimsical opening credits might be the most poignant part of the movie, not to mention the most adorable thing I've seen in ages. Speaking of the dinner, the latter half of said scene devolves into some baffling juvenile bullshit that wouldn't look out of place in a low budget PG comedy from the mid-90's, but it's a thankfully small stain on an otherwise terrific design. Even if you hate The Office and that fat neckbeard guy and obnoxious love stories as much as I do, you will probably love it.

Rating: It's true, after all - a mind is a terrible thing