Director: Derrick Borte
Producers: Adam Betteridge et al.
Screenplay: Randy T. Dinzler (story) & Derrick Borte
(written by)
Cinematography: Yaron Orbach
Music: Nick Urata
Editor: Janice Hampton
Running Time: 96 minutes
Cast: David Duchovny (Steve Jones), Demi Moore
(Kate Jones), Amber Heard (Jenn Jones), Ben Hollingsworth (Mick Jones), Gary
Cole (Larry Symonds), Glenne Headly (Summer Symonds), Lauren Hutton (KC), Chris
Williams (Billy), Christine Evangelista (Naomi Madsen), Robert Pralgo (Alex
Bayner), Tiffany Morgan (Melanie Bayner)
Steve and Kate Jones (David Duchovney, Demi Moore), and their two teenage kids Jenn and Mick (Amber Heard, Ben Hollingsworth) move into an afflulent community and send everyone scrambling. The Joneses are beautiful, stylish, cultured, and they have all the latest "stuff": state-of-the-art gadgets, top of the line golf clubs, plus the finest furniture, clothing, cars, and home decor. It's no wonder everyone wants to keep up with the Joneses.
But something is not quite right with this seemingly perfect family. Despite all outward appearances of a loving, bonded family, their private live is distant, academic, almost ... professional. Steve and Kate don't share a bed, although their public affection is suggestive and convincing. How they afford all their wonderful toys is not initially clear. And what of the mysterious KC (Lauren Hutton), who drops by unannounced and seems to share the family's secrets?
Although the big "twist" of The Jonese is revealed in the first half hour, it's still a fun little development, and I wouldn't dream of revealing it here. Once the audience is made privy to all of the facts, the rest of the film becomes a study of status-seeking and consumerist envy, as the Jones's neighbors, unaware that this family is not quite right, spend large quantities of money to possess the same toys and, in essence, "keep up." Only next door neighbor Larry Symonds (Gary Cole) has his suspicions, but when he watches the Jones's house at night, he nevertheless sits astride his brand new riding lawnmower, listening to the news on his portable flat-screen TV, both items he purchased because Steve Jones had them first.
There is not much more I can say about The Joneses without spoiling the plot. It's a pleasant enough diversion that makes some pointed commentary about society's obsession with the accumulation of "stuff," and it is carried by the strong performances of Duchovny and Moore.
If I have a complaint, it's that the denouement is a bit of a sell-out. After scraping the surface of some dark avenues of the soul, The Joneses rushes to manufacture a happy ending, one that feels tacked on by an uneasy distributor. Perhaps this ending is what director and cowriter Derrick Borte intended, and it certainly is plausible, but given the abyss the film dared to peek into, I would have liked to have seen it go a bit further. As such, while I can still recommend it, I can't say the film's sharp and witty first hundred minutes are sufficiently resolved by its cliched last ten.
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