Okay, my old lady pulls this up last night and we go into it knowing nothing. From the get go you know this family is acting. I was thinking maybe they're spies or better yet some terrorist group sent in to infiltrate some upscale gated suburban community to maybe attack a senator or blackmail him into control after he sleeps with the hot daughter.
Instead of all the great ideas posted above, turns out that they are "selling" their lifestyle and products by moving into an affluent neighborhood and trying to be trend-setters. Honestly I kind of liked the idea but think that the story captured on film doesn't do the story justice. Maybe there is a book and it's better, maybe not.
The problem is that what is shown on film is the Duchovny/Moore family influencing their neighbors to buy a few golf clubs, some sunglasses, a plasma TV, and a car. I guess that you are supposed to fill in the blanks that these people are in turn getting the whole city to buy the same clubs and sunglasses since it looks like they live in the most high rent area, but this isn't ever shown. Not even in some music montage. My issue is that I can't see some advertising company bankrolling a project with four full-time people on the payroll along with having the overhead of renting a 8000 sq ft house in what looks like the most high value neighborhood in the state just to close on a riding lawnmower, a Nintendo ds and some boxes of frozen sushi. I mean when you add it all it it is only like maybe $60,000 of merch that it looks like they sold when you include the car.
Now comes the cliché part. Sure they are all actors but Duchovny really loves Demi Moore and is pushing for the romance the whole movie. Once the "kids" start getting into trouble then the "family" starts to morph into a real family with Duchovny and Moore coming together to help the kids and Duchovny and Moore finally consummating their pretend marriage. So cliché, oh wow now they are like a real family... Puhlease.
It all ends for Duchovny when his neighbor, the boss from Office Space, maxes out his cards and can't pay his bills because he is trying to buy merch to keep up with the Jonesesand ends up killing himself. Duchovny quits and the rest of the family move to a new town to start up shop again but with a new dad. Lame.
This movie seems like a good place for the director to be crapping on consumerism, but it isn't really preachy at all. Only when the Office Space boss is dead do you have a feeling that the movie is maybe 10% preachy. But they don't show the neighbors buying stuff and still feeling empty inside. They only show everyone "Ozzy and Harriet" happy and Duchovny upset that he can't get it on with Moore.
Final thoughts, get the number of Moore's plastic surgeon because she is looking great in this film. I remember her in Charlie's Angels where she looked all ripped and looked like her face was going the Joan Rivers route, that must've been ten years ago. In this movie her face looks fresh but natural, it looks like no medical assistance was used in the creation of her face. She looks a good solid 44 yrs old. Absolutely amazing for a broad nearing her sixth decade.
As for the movie, skip it. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a comedy, social commentary or love story and thus the plot just seems to go nowhere as there is no driving force behind the story.
Instead of all the great ideas posted above, turns out that they are "selling" their lifestyle and products by moving into an affluent neighborhood and trying to be trend-setters. Honestly I kind of liked the idea but think that the story captured on film doesn't do the story justice. Maybe there is a book and it's better, maybe not.
The problem is that what is shown on film is the Duchovny/Moore family influencing their neighbors to buy a few golf clubs, some sunglasses, a plasma TV, and a car. I guess that you are supposed to fill in the blanks that these people are in turn getting the whole city to buy the same clubs and sunglasses since it looks like they live in the most high rent area, but this isn't ever shown. Not even in some music montage. My issue is that I can't see some advertising company bankrolling a project with four full-time people on the payroll along with having the overhead of renting a 8000 sq ft house in what looks like the most high value neighborhood in the state just to close on a riding lawnmower, a Nintendo ds and some boxes of frozen sushi. I mean when you add it all it it is only like maybe $60,000 of merch that it looks like they sold when you include the car.
Now comes the cliché part. Sure they are all actors but Duchovny really loves Demi Moore and is pushing for the romance the whole movie. Once the "kids" start getting into trouble then the "family" starts to morph into a real family with Duchovny and Moore coming together to help the kids and Duchovny and Moore finally consummating their pretend marriage. So cliché, oh wow now they are like a real family... Puhlease.
It all ends for Duchovny when his neighbor, the boss from Office Space, maxes out his cards and can't pay his bills because he is trying to buy merch to keep up with the Jonesesand ends up killing himself. Duchovny quits and the rest of the family move to a new town to start up shop again but with a new dad. Lame.
This movie seems like a good place for the director to be crapping on consumerism, but it isn't really preachy at all. Only when the Office Space boss is dead do you have a feeling that the movie is maybe 10% preachy. But they don't show the neighbors buying stuff and still feeling empty inside. They only show everyone "Ozzy and Harriet" happy and Duchovny upset that he can't get it on with Moore.
Final thoughts, get the number of Moore's plastic surgeon because she is looking great in this film. I remember her in Charlie's Angels where she looked all ripped and looked like her face was going the Joan Rivers route, that must've been ten years ago. In this movie her face looks fresh but natural, it looks like no medical assistance was used in the creation of her face. She looks a good solid 44 yrs old. Absolutely amazing for a broad nearing her sixth decade.
As for the movie, skip it. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a comedy, social commentary or love story and thus the plot just seems to go nowhere as there is no driving force behind the story.