It was a Steve Carrell weekend!

Having already proclaimed my affinity for "The Office," I spent a recent weekend giving one of the show's stars some of my money. Within a 48-hour span two weeks ago, I took in a pair of Steve Carrell's summer films, spanning the best and not-so-best he's got to offer.

The first was "Despicable Me," which had some good moments but kind of left me asking, Why did they make this movie? There was nothing really special about it, though the three little girls — Margo, Edith and Agnes — were totally adorable ... yes, even as CGI characters. Still, the story was sort of lacking and there was really nothing so special that, in my opinion, would have made studio heads say, "We need to make this movie!" Additionally, Steve Carrell's character could have been voiced just as well by any number of actors; there was nothing particularly good (or bad, to be fair) about his performance. I'd give the movie a solid C grade.

But what a difference just 24 hours can make!

The following night, we took in the opening night of "Dinner for Schmucks," which is easily Steve Carrell's best work since "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" back in 2005. I don't even know where to begin: Perhaps that we laughed from the opening credits all the way to the end credits! From rodent taxidermy to supposed mind control, this movie has everything. I was expecting the actual dinner, which is touted in the title, to take up the majority of the screen time, but it's actually a small portion of the movie at the end, but it's totally worth the wait. By far, this was the funniest movie I've seen all year — partially because I actually know someone eerily similar to Steve Carrell's Barry Speck character — and easily earns an A+ in my book.

Of course, these flicks just make me want the new season of "The Office," Steve Carrell's last on the show, to get here sooner!