The first two-thirds of “The Joneses,” staring Demi Moore and David Duchovny, is a sharp satire about the compulsive materialism that is pervasive in American life. Writer/director Derrick Borte highlights society’s obsession with status while postulating the lengths some corporations will go to sell their products. And credit card debit is out of control because people can’t say no. At first glance, the Joneses are the perfect family: father Steve (Duchovny), mother Kate (Moore), son, Mick (Ben Hollingsworth) and daughter Jenn (Amber Heard). In reality, they’re not a family at all, but a team of marketers sent to a wealthy suburb to seduce their neighbors into buying more stuff. The Joneses, employed by an unnamed company, are part of a ‘stealth marketing campaign,’ supervised by KC (Lauren Hutton). The couple next door, Larry (Gary Cole) and Summer (Glenne Headly), strive to keep up with the Joneses, but because Larry doesn’t make enough to finance all of the purchases, he soon finds himself deep in debt.
Unfortunately, the film doesn’t address corporate responsibility. It’s too easy to say that the consumer bears all of the responsibility for over consumption. Of course, fiscal restraint is important, but when corporations use ‘stealth’ techniques to get people to buy, isn’t that similar to subliminal advertising? And isn’t that illegal? Nonetheless, despite a brilliant start, the last third loses its keen edge and turns into to melodrama, with Borte hitting you over the head with his message. You might feel dissatisfied by the time the end credits roll. I know I did. 4/18/10
1 comment:
This movie had a clever plot and some interesting moments. The cast was good and I enjoyed it. By looking at the boxoffice mojo it appears that I am one of the few that liked it.
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