The Joneses (C or 2/4 stars)
To the very untrained eye, The Joneses seem to be the perfect family; rich, beautiful, respected. They include the suave everyman, Steve, the sexy trend setter Kate (David Duchovny, Demi Moore), & their 2 attractive teens, Mick & Jenn (Ben Hollingsworth, Amber Heard). But we all know that no family is perfect. And though they live in a gorgeous house, own stunningly expensive furniture, play with cool high-tech toys, & drive fancy cars, there are a host of problems beneath their surface veneer. 1st example? How about when Jenn tries to sleep with dad, Steve, one night. You see, these 4 individuals are not a family, but are a team of stealth marketers; employees of a corporation called LifeImage who've been assigned to their upscale neighborhood to 'show off' the good life to their not-as-fortunate neighbors - & get them to buy the products LifeImage represents.
It is explained to them (by a LifeImage representative played by Lauren Hutton) that if people want to be The Joneses ... then they'll want what the Joneses 'own'. Their next door neighbors, Larry & Summer (Gary Cole, Glenne Headly), fall for their charade ... but there's a problem. Larry doesn't make quite enough $$ to finance all the fine purchases he's been making to counter-impress The Joneses & his own wife. Suddenly drowning in his own debt, melodrama ensues for all parties involved. So what started as a darkly humorous social commentary about consumerist society descends - unfortunately - to soap opera antics involving family dynamics, romance, & death. 'The Joneses', directed by Derrick Borte disappoints in the end.
It's no surprise why we're in the economic situation that we are. Forget teens, it's the adults who are consumer-driven; racking up credit card bills, going into debt, & further tainting the name 'America'. I enjoyed the early, clever premise of this film (a sharp allegory/satire on the middle class greed that leads to eventual recession). If what occurs in this plot doesn't already exist (conning people into buying products), than I wouldn't be surprised if something like it starts soon {haha}. I like the way the truth about these characters are gradually revealed. And it's interesting to see how, by the end, the salesmen (Joneses) wind up being as duped as the people they're toying with. But by the last 30-40 min., the premise fails to deliver, character interest fades, the plot runs out of steam, & I became very aggravated by the way things unfold. What was once cool, became dull. What was once nuanced, became unsubtle.
The film kept me interested to the end; but my eyes were rolling all over the place while the silly, pseudo-serious melodrama took hold. The actors keep things nice & light early on; matching the early tone. Duchovny is likeable in a smart-assy kind of way. Demi gives her best performance in quite a while; which isn't saying much. But she's suitably cold, yet sexy. Ben Hollingsworth is pretty good as the 'son' with a hidden secret. And Amanda Heard, well, I got nothing -- but she reminds me of Keira Knightley. Overall, 'The Joneses' is not a bad movie, just one that fails to deliver on its early success; which, in some ways, is more disappointing. It needed to be a tad funnier, a tad more satirical ... a tad darker? I don't know. It needed something with more edge in the end. 2 characters drive away in apparent bliss; and that does not line up with what I thought would happen to these people. Not at all.
It is explained to them (by a LifeImage representative played by Lauren Hutton) that if people want to be The Joneses ... then they'll want what the Joneses 'own'. Their next door neighbors, Larry & Summer (Gary Cole, Glenne Headly), fall for their charade ... but there's a problem. Larry doesn't make quite enough $$ to finance all the fine purchases he's been making to counter-impress The Joneses & his own wife. Suddenly drowning in his own debt, melodrama ensues for all parties involved. So what started as a darkly humorous social commentary about consumerist society descends - unfortunately - to soap opera antics involving family dynamics, romance, & death. 'The Joneses', directed by Derrick Borte disappoints in the end.
It's no surprise why we're in the economic situation that we are. Forget teens, it's the adults who are consumer-driven; racking up credit card bills, going into debt, & further tainting the name 'America'. I enjoyed the early, clever premise of this film (a sharp allegory/satire on the middle class greed that leads to eventual recession). If what occurs in this plot doesn't already exist (conning people into buying products), than I wouldn't be surprised if something like it starts soon {haha}. I like the way the truth about these characters are gradually revealed. And it's interesting to see how, by the end, the salesmen (Joneses) wind up being as duped as the people they're toying with. But by the last 30-40 min., the premise fails to deliver, character interest fades, the plot runs out of steam, & I became very aggravated by the way things unfold. What was once cool, became dull. What was once nuanced, became unsubtle.
The film kept me interested to the end; but my eyes were rolling all over the place while the silly, pseudo-serious melodrama took hold. The actors keep things nice & light early on; matching the early tone. Duchovny is likeable in a smart-assy kind of way. Demi gives her best performance in quite a while; which isn't saying much. But she's suitably cold, yet sexy. Ben Hollingsworth is pretty good as the 'son' with a hidden secret. And Amanda Heard, well, I got nothing -- but she reminds me of Keira Knightley. Overall, 'The Joneses' is not a bad movie, just one that fails to deliver on its early success; which, in some ways, is more disappointing. It needed to be a tad funnier, a tad more satirical ... a tad darker? I don't know. It needed something with more edge in the end. 2 characters drive away in apparent bliss; and that does not line up with what I thought would happen to these people. Not at all.