The Joneses
Published December 31, 2010
Film info
- Title The Joneses
- Director Derrick Borte
- Year 2009
- Run time 1hr 36m
- Genres Comedy, Drama
- Tagline They're not just living the American dream, they're selling it
A seemingly perfect family moves into a suburban neighbourhood but they don't explain why they made that choice to their new neighbours.
Live Blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:33 | It’s all far too neat for moving day. Moving day = chaos. |
| 3:53 | New HTC. No specific name as they change so freakishly often. |
| 6:32 | It must be weird pretending to be a happy family and having to be nice to everyone all the time. What are they even trying to sell? |
| 10:17 | These men just spend their weekdays playing golf? No jobs? |
| 10:46 | Meanwhile, she’s getting a facial. Definitely no jobs. |
| 16:09 | Who needs three cars, really? |
| 19:29 | They’re good at what they do but a) how do they make money and b) what is this film actually about? |
| 23:25 | Why would she protect him? She doesn’t seem to like him very much. |
| 25:24 | It’s sneaky. I don’t like it. |
| 26:54 | “It was a Tuesday gift… just for being a Tuesday.” Take note! |
| 29:20 | I don’t understand how you move somewhere and get a cult following in two months. Especially at school. |
| 31:33 | How can their house be so tidy after a party? |
| 36:44 | If they could sell me anything it would be the mammoth fridge. Big fridges are lovely. |
| 40:11 | Talk about a public display of affection. |
| 43:38 | Now they are sharing brands? How does this business model work? |
| 50:46 | A year with a pretend husband seems like a long time. |
| 53:12 | There’s so much product placement in this film, where do you start? |
| 54:41 | Nice heels to play golf in. |
| 56:36 | Suddenly she is being nice to him when he can get her the icon status. |
| 58:47 | It’s suddenly taken a worrying turn. Drink driving? |
| 1:03:37 | Phew. Not too worrying a turn in the end. |
| 1:05:22 | Like any normal family, it’s all got a bit complicated. |
| 1:06:51 | That girl has no shame. |
| 1:11:11 | Aww, I like it when they’re all nice to each other. |
| 1:12:39 | Uh oh, finding out about the last husband. Always risky. |
| 1:15:47 | What is foreclosure? I’m guessing it means no money. |
| 1:20:18 | That is sad, but… that is quite an amazing way to go. |
| 1:22:48 | I do believe he may have gone rogue. |
| 1:25:05 | Of course she took the deal after he ruined her life. Hardly a fair “I told you so.” |
| 1:26:39 | He’s going to ruin another gig for her! |
| 1:29:49 | Damn, he almost got to keep the car. |
Conclusions
I wasn’t 100% convinced by the trailer of this one, and was more intrigued by the thought of Demi Moore and the guy from the X Files acting opposite each other than by the story itself. Nevertheless, with lots of festive free time, and a relatively cheap rental, we settled down to keep up with the Joneses.
This was surprisingly good in the end, but it took a long time before it started making sense. The business model still remains a mystery, and for at least half the film I was pondering exactly where they were going with it all. Maybe that’s a good thing? It certainly wasn’t predictable. I enjoyed the fact that there was a romance element but it wasn’t mushy, and I would mark it higher if the premise actually made it a bit more sense.
Rating: 3/5
Rating: 3 / 5