Review of The Joneses (2010) by Erno K — 08 Sep 2010

What if your entire life was just an elaborate hoax so you could sell stuff more effectively to the people in your community? The premise alone is something I had never seen before. Throw some Mulder in there and it's bound to be awesome.

I really like how the fake family is able to squeeze their sales pitch into every situation. I was constantly smiling at their scheming and the beginning of the film is a blast solely because of that. At first I was shocked how fucked up the family really is under the facade, but then the nature of the "unit" was revealed. Even that only emphasized how easy it is to act normal (more like perfect) even if everything is anything but.

Now, it wouldn't be a movie if something didn't go wrong, and it's the man of the house who starts to question the lifestyle of lying to everyone. Of course there has to be a romance as well, but I loved Duchovny and Moore in this together and their chemistry is strong, so it all works out. Duchovny especially is as charming a bastard as ever.

I enjoyed the movie a great deal, as it explores an entirely unique situation (well, not counting parts of The Truman Show I guess). I'd go insane in a week if I had to integrate my whole life with selling shit, but that's why I don't make the big bucks.

That Japanese toilet would be creepy as hell though! Who wants music coming from beneath when pooping? Yikes.