I think I've figured out the problem with what we've seen from Dinner for Schmucks so far: not enough Paul Rudd. Sure, he's once again playing the straight man to a crazy co-star, and seems to be letting Steve Carell and his Julius Caesar haircut take over all the laugh lines. But the genius of Rudd is that he lends a little sanity to movies that can otherwise be totally off the rails, and the trailers so far for Dinner for Schmucks seem to be entirely about the crazy parts.

Take, for example, the newest trailer, which debuted today at Apple and can be seen there in high-res. Sure it's funny to see Carell and Zach Galifianakis shoot imaginary laser beams at each other, and I kind of like the idea of Jay Roach directing an entire movie about a dinner as uncomfortable as the one with the cat milking in Meet the Parents. But why doesn't Paul Rudd get to do more here? Am I being an irrational Rudd fan, or does his absence from these trailers really indicate a movie that simply doesn't know how to tone it down when necessary? When Dinner for Schmucks comes out July 23 I guess we'll know for sure.

Watch in high-res at Apple.com