Review of The Joneses (2010) by Steve Z — 16 Nov 2010

The Joneses canâ(TM)t sell me on this movie.

The Joneses believability factor did not work for me. It seems like the writer came up with a basic idea for a sitcom and then added a lot of soap opera drama thinking it would seem more realistic. Instead the movie just seems off; too silly at times and too serious at other times.

The story revolves around the Jones family, or at least that is who they pretend to be. The family is actually four salespeople who are sent to live in a nice home in an upscale neighborhood with a lot of nice home furnishings, electronics, dishes, golf clubs, and anything else that they are supposed to be influencing their neighbors to buy. They call this âstealth marketingâ?.

The family consists of David Duchovny and Demi Moore as the parents. Duckovnyâ(TM)s character is a former womanizer who is a rookie at this job. He is sexually interested in Demi Moore but she canâ(TM)t get involved because she is his boss and she has vouched for him to her boss that he is the right person for the job.

The two children, who both look older than they are supposed be, are played by Amber Heard and Ben Hollingsworth. They are told to get in boyfriend/girlfriend relationships with kids at school in order to get them to buy all the latest things.

The neighbors, played by Gary Cole and Glenn Headly, fall for the stealth marketing hook. When David Duchovny is speaking with Gary Cole about his sex life, he suggests âa steady stream of gifts.â? Cole follows the advice.

You donâ(TM)t have to be a genius to see where this movie is going. The main story involving the two Jones parents and the neighbors is predictable.

The movie had some believability issues about the premise. Imagine a company paying four salespeople top dollar to live together and stealth market things to their neighbors. That means the company pays for a really nice home and food for these people. Stealth marketing only advertises to very select few people. The company supposedly does this all around the country. The companies also have to deal with the risk of somebody finding out that the Joneses or one of their many other fake families are not who they say they are. It all seems like a pretty risky investment for any business person.

How is stealth marketing more profitable than advertising on television, in a magazine or online? And what is this company that sells everything from dishes to golf clubs? I guess nobody can link the dishes to the golf clubs to uncover this silly conspiracy against the neighbors in upscale neighborhoods across America.

The story has enough twists and turns to keep it somewhat interesting, but all of these twists and turns seem like they were pulled off of a daytime soap opera. In fact, this whole plot seems like one bad daytime soap opera that is trying to say something about advertising and consumer culture in America. Unfortunately, that something is bogged down with a predictable and somewhat ridiculous plot that doesnâ(TM)t quite work.

Steve Zumstein.