Keeping Up with the Joneses

Dir: Greg Mottola

2016

**

2016’s Keeping Up with the Joneses almost warns you what to expect in the title – a re-vamped idea, that no one asked for, is hard to get enthusiastic about and isn’t actually all that re-vamped anyway. The fact that Greg Mottola is the director may have attracted some to the film, but then the sort of people who know who he is would probably also know who writer Michael LeSieur is, and would become far less attracted pretty quickly. LeSieur hasn’t written many films to date, his debut You, Me and Dupree is horrible but his 2009 film The Maiden Heist was actually rather nice, but needed drastic changes made to it. Keeping Up with the Joneses has, rather frustratingly, the exact same problems. The cast is likable, really likable, Zach Galifianakis is delightful in this toned-down version of his usual persona and Jon Hamm has a twinkle in his eye, in a genre he’s not exactly known for. Isla Fisher’s comic abilities have matured greatly, particularly her physical comedy and Gal Gadot has loads more character here than she has had in previous films – although she’s got to be careful she doesn’t go for every film that sees her in a state of undress, she’s beautiful for sure, but I think she’s better than that and has way more to give. The ‘spy next door’ story line is old and has never been that great, so the film makers really needed to give the audience something new – which they don’t. However, they do it well and as action comedies go, it is full of action and has moments of great comedy. The comedy comes more from the script, rather than the physical though, with many of the comedy stunts falling flat. We knew someone would get bitten the moment the snake was revealed, we knew the first attempt of smashing through a window wouldn’t work and we knew that the awkward sex scene would lead to something disastrous etc. And must every mainstream comedy have a Ken Jeong/Mr. Chow Chinese stereotype in it? It was nice to see Patton Oswalt pop up as the film’s unexpected villain but he, and his humour, were ultimately wasted. The story tries to make a big deal about each character’s emotional traits but doesn’t really develop into anything, Galifianakis’s character is in HR and is good at communication but the other three leads don’t really have anything more to offer than ‘Man spy’, ‘Woman spy’ and ‘Wife’. To be honest though, there is no character definition whatsoever, Galifianakis is a mix of previous characters he’s played, Hamm is Mad Men, Gadot is Fast & Furious and Fisher is, I’m afraid, still Borat’s pretty wife. I mean disrespect to the actors, like I said, they are well cast as they are all hugely likable, but their characters have barely been written. That’s the film in a nutshell, likable but with no substance or anything. I’m the sort of person who always goes for the same flavour milkshake, the same flavour ice-cream and the same type of curry. I’m a creature of habit and I have a routine and there is nothing wrong with that. However, I will never read the same book twice, I will never go to the same exhibition twice and I would never take the same picture twice. Keeping Up with the Joneses, is I’m afraid, for those that know what they like, know what they want and have no interest in the new or different. The sort of people who laugh when told something is funny, who obey the supermarket and let others choose their preferences. I really didn’t mind it, I am half of what I described I admit, but if you’re going to drive a road well-travelled, at least do it in a different car, at a different speed, with the windows open and a different radio station playing through the speakers!