Keeping Up with the Joneses

Starring: Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm, Gal Gadot, Patton Oswalt, Ming Zhao, Kevin Dunn, Matt Walsh
Directed by: Greg Mottola
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Comedy
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An ordinary couple (Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher) are impressed and intimidated when new neighbors (Jon Hamm, Gal Gadot) move in. They soon begin to suspect their neighbors are spies.

Review:

Tim: There's some redeeming qualities to Keeping Up with the Joneses, but honestly, the film itself is about as cliched and generic as the title would suggest. This is a movie that heavily recycles from other films and really struggles to offer up original ideas of its own. This is a forgettable, lackluster film. While it might not be terrible, it certainly doesn't deserve seeking out. This is yet another poor comedy.

The basic idea has been played out way too many times, but I get the appeal. We have an average couple who begin to grow suspicious of their new neighbors. We've seen this so many times before, especially when the neighbors prove to be some kind of government spies. This basic premise has been done before and in recent years. That hurts this film, because instead of feeling like it was offering something new, it felt like it was presenting a movie we've already seen before. The film can never shake that feeling, especially when it routinely delivers things we've seen before.

I can't say the movie is especially funny. Sure, Zach Galifianakis is a funny guy, so he's going to illicit at least a few chuckles. But the movie as a whole is surprisingly short on laughs. There's a few minor attempts to throw some twists into the plot, but they honestly don't amount to much. When the stakes feel so low and you don't have much of a connection to any of the characters, you're not going to get much other than a general shrug of the shoulders.

Galifianakis has been hilarious in movies, but he's not here. I don't know this for a fact, but it certainly felt like a lot of improvisation was going on. That typically results in marginally funny moments. This movie is really lacking the big, memorable laughs. Isla Fisher was okay- she certainly has comedy chops, but she doesn't have a ton to do here that is especially interesting. It felt like she was trying, but not quite giving 100%. Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot both were too over-the-top. Their characters became caricatures and never felt like authentic human beings. There was a way to tell their story without being so one-dimensional and on-the-nose. Both play their parts as well as they can, but they badly needed better direction and better writing to support them. Patton Oswalt probably comes off looking the best of the entire cast- he at least seemed to have fun with his role and like he knew the bar had been set pretty low by everyone and everything else around him. The cast as a whole might have some names attached, but really did leave much to be desired. I do criticize director Greg Mottola for not fully leveraging the talent he did have. This movie needed better direction.

There's far too many comedies coming out that feel too loose, lacking control. This is another of them. It's forgettable, totally lightweight, and not very funny. Keeping Up with the Joneses is a movie I could have skipped and I badly wished I did.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Paul, Adventureland, Superbad, Masterminds