Review of The House of Yes (1997) by Nick M — 06 Jun 2004

Today was graduation practice and afterwards me and a couple of friends went down to the beach. Very nice day, we got lucky. We went in the water, which we haven't done in a while because it has been freezing the past couple of times. Today was no exception. The key is, you have to stay in paini n the freezing water for 2 minutes and then your body becomes numb and you can't feel the chill. There were suprisingly decent sized waves and I got sucked under on more than one occasion.

This weekend I ended up renting a couple of movies with my friends and this time I actually got to pick one of them, that movie was [b]The House of Yes[/b]. I wasn't really sure what it was about but I heard it was a really good dark, independant comedy and since Parker Posey was on the cover, I had a strong urge to rent it. It took me about a half an hour to convince my friends but they all eventually gave up and got it. Well, I really liked it. My other friends though Parker Posey was funny but didn't think much of the Jackie O. references and twisted family relationships. I won't tell you much about it, because I didn't know much and ended up really enjoying it. Parker Posey is brilliantly insane and shows why she is one of the best actresses working today (or in 1997 when this movie was released). The rest of the cast is capable and do their job well, even though it includes the likes of Freddie Prinze Jr. and Tori Spelling, but everyone is constantly outshone by Ms. Posey. The darkly comical situations and story lien may turn off some, but if you know you would like this sort of thing then you must give it a try. The sharp and biting dialogue is great and all of the characters interact well. Any movie that has Freddie Prinze Jr. and Tori Spelling in it, and remains extremely tolerable and a joy to watch throughout its entire runnign time deserves a lot of credit. [b]B+[/b].

I can't pick them all, I'll tell you that. The movie I had to sit through to see The House of Yes was Eurotrip. But wait, it didn't suck? No it did not, and it is amazing what low expectations can do for a movie. Many will look at this film and think that it is just another stupid teenage sex comedy, and it is by all means, but it surprised me a couple times with its moments of genuine comedy. The cliches and unnecessarily lewd humor is there, but there are laughs to be found. I'm sure it is better than Win a Date With Tad Hamilton (my friend's, who happens to be a girl, choice). The surprisingly good can't totally outweigh the horribly bad in this movie so I can't help but give this movie a [b]C+[/b].

Just go see The House of Yes. It's unique, funny, dark, and at times genius. I was really between a B+ and an A-.