There's nothing I hate more than a comedy movie that seems to be funny only in its trailers or previews but the movie itself, in its entirety, fails to crack you up in every possible way. Look, when you come in to watch a comedy, there's a certain expectation that you'd be laughing out loud, and so when that doesn't happen, it becomes a total waste of time. And that's KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES for ya!
Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher play an ordinary suburban couple, the Gaffneys, whose lives are mundane. Their kids are out to summer camp and they have the whole house to themselves, but the can't even get themselves to go wild and have fun. Until the mysterious new neighbor moves in, The Joneses, played by Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot. They seem so sophisticated, so accomplished, so exciting and perfect and this whole thing attracts the Gaffneys,.. that is until they discover that the Joneses are covert operatives.
I was ready to call this film the Mr. & Mrs. Smith of Comedy, but I take it all back now, because as far as action comedy goes, KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES is as dull and unexciting as the Gaffneys are. I wonder what exactly is it about Michael LeSieur's screenplay that made the studio and the producers want to gamble on it. Every punch line in this film goes way past your head because it either tries too hard or doesn't even try at all. And the film badly wants to be perceived as making some kind of effort to tackle themes of coupling and marriage or the complications of relationship, but what ends up happening instead are the characters arguing among themselves and we the audience tuning them out . Engaging is not even in the same area code as KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES which should be an example of one of the year's worst films.
-- Rama's Screen --
Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher play an ordinary suburban couple, the Gaffneys, whose lives are mundane. Their kids are out to summer camp and they have the whole house to themselves, but the can't even get themselves to go wild and have fun. Until the mysterious new neighbor moves in, The Joneses, played by Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot. They seem so sophisticated, so accomplished, so exciting and perfect and this whole thing attracts the Gaffneys,.. that is until they discover that the Joneses are covert operatives.
I was ready to call this film the Mr. & Mrs. Smith of Comedy, but I take it all back now, because as far as action comedy goes, KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES is as dull and unexciting as the Gaffneys are. I wonder what exactly is it about Michael LeSieur's screenplay that made the studio and the producers want to gamble on it. Every punch line in this film goes way past your head because it either tries too hard or doesn't even try at all. And the film badly wants to be perceived as making some kind of effort to tackle themes of coupling and marriage or the complications of relationship, but what ends up happening instead are the characters arguing among themselves and we the audience tuning them out . Engaging is not even in the same area code as KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES which should be an example of one of the year's worst films.
-- Rama's Screen --