Everybody wants the American Dream. The dream may be different from person to person but for Corporate America, the American Dream is owning everything money can buy or at least more than everybody you know. What if a company set up a family with everything new and fantastic in order to entice the people around them to go out and buy it? Well that’s the premise of this movie. Think: Keeping up with The Joneses. Demi Moore is the boss of this family, or unit, with David Duchovny as the charismatic newbie, Ben Hollingsworth as the perfect son, and Amber Heard as the cute daughter who has one flaw: she’s sex crazy. The family moves into an unexpecting suburban community and instantly starts showcasing their possessions. But they’re not selling products, they’re selling the lifestyle and when people want the life you have, they’ll buy whatever it takes to get it, or at least that’s the plan.
By living their everyday lives wearing brand named clothes that are trendy, using the cars that were being marketed, eating the food that the company wanted consumed, and using the products that they wanted to fly off the shelves, The Joneses promoted themselves and in doing so, promoted all of those things to their friends and neighbours.
As the fake family unit lived their substitute lives, real family problems started to creep into the story. The fake relations between husband and wife began to get real and you discovered that David Duchovny’s character, Steve Jones tried this interesting job to get a glimpse of the family life that he was missing and to see how it was. He claimed that he just had not met a person that he would be a better person for. The film’s sub plot of finding “the one” was actually really strong and gave a different perspective that you don’t quite get to see. Instead of working towards finding the person you fall in love…this couple is working as if they were in love…it’s their job. Jenn is the sex crazed teenage daughter and you know where that story goes but Mick’s character gives a great twist out of left field.
The movie did leave a lot to be desired. Since this is such a unique concept, you want to learn more about each character and their lives, both real and fake. The Joneses concentrated on mainly Mr. and Mrs. Joneses but the kids were great stories in themselves and you only got bits and pieces from them. The social commentary is great as it exposes some thoughts behind the American Dream, suburbia, keeping up, and love. You see how this fake family whom seem perfect affect others in the community. However, some side stories and characters aren’t fully realized and seem to just fade away in the film as the main story line comes together in the end. It would’ve been nice to get some closure on some of the extra points of the film.
The movie is entertaining and a bit dark. It’s definitely more for the older crowd who are probably living the lives of the main characters. It has some really funny and clever lines that’ll keep you smiling as you watch even if you try and hold back a smirk. David Duchovny’s character reminded me a lot of his character from Californication except he wasn’t an a-hole. In fact, he was really charming but still had that smart-alecky attitude. Demi looked great in the movie and the way she portrayed Kate Jones was spot on…you could really see the transition of the character figuring out what she really was doing with her life.
Initially, I wondered why this movie didn’t go over the top with the marketing and have thousands of corporate sponsorships and really go blockbuster with the movie and promotion but after seeing the whole film, I’m really glad they didn’t. By keeping it small and having a serious tone at times they really drove home the messages they were trying to deliver through the film and story. I bet you think twice about what you buy and why after you see the movie.
Quick side note: A band called Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head is showcased a bit and some girls from the Desperate Housewives of Atlanta make a cameo. I’ll leave you with my favorite line from the movie: “Whoever dies with the most toys wins” so go keep up with the joneses and watch this flick!
Tags: Amber Heard, Ben Hollingsworth, David Duchovny, Demi Moore, The Joneses
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
