The Joneses

They lost the point

Lover: Taken from IMDB
“One of the few times I've been able to leave a full-price theater thinking that it was totally worth it. I hadn't seen any previews or trailers (watching TV on the web means that my ad exposure is *very* skewed), so I had only the teensy summary on the movie theater website to go by. Thus, I can't speak to others' criticisms of the movie not living up to the hype. It's not super-dark, and I don't think that it goes far enough to be considered truly satirical, particularly given the fact that some of the characters experience a type of redemption, but it's one of the most self-aware movies I've seen in ages. I tried to think of more movies like TYFS to include for comparison, but am coming up short. Therefore, all I can say is that I'd love to see more movies that merge cynical/comedic/dramatic elements so thoroughly.”

A lot of long words and each of them fully justified.

Hater: Taken from IMDB
“I believe David Duchovny must have joined the Opus Dei or some other sort of Christian fundamentalist organizacion. Californication could have been the perfect series for the politically incorrect but became a lame excuse to promote family values. He now does The Joneses, a movie that teaches us that a man can turn a FAKE family into a REAL one (or sort of) and in the process we also learn how important it is to have a family. Well, I have nothing against family values but I don't need them slammed on my face every time I turn on the TV or go to the cinema and that is why I believe this movie is crap. Also, there is no character development, you never learn why he, the stallion, is in love with her or why she falls for him. You can giggle two or three times but don't be fooled by the IMDb or whoever marketed this movie, this is no comedy, it is just rubbish. One out of ten and only because I can't give it a zero.”

No one’s forcing you to go to the cinema or keep the channel on when you’re watching these so called “family values”, so stop bloody watching. More importantly stop writing completely useless reviews!

What I thought:
I had no idea about what this film was about before seeing it and I think it made it so much better than it would have been had I known. Seeing this fake family selling seems like such a no-brainer of an idea. The perfect marketing, a family who seem perfect, and the kind of family people aspire to have and buy all the things we want. In that’s sense it’s not just some skewed family values but a comment on shameful consumerism. Sure there is a romance going on there but it’s sidelined for the majority of the running time by the characters (mainly our fake father) going from being happy in their shallow lifestyle to discovering that there’s more to life.

The darkness that has been spoken about is not as dark as you would think, the watery moment passes by without really as much dramatic as you would imagine. At that point in the film it becomes a little disjointed, I thought I was watching a smart satire about the dangers of consumerism and by the final third it’s clear I should have been watching the blossoming fake romance at the head of the family. It’s not that the romance isn’t believable between David Duchovney and Demi Moore; it’s that it never really seems like the focus.

A shame really because I think the film makers missed a chance to make a really thought provoking film. With the talent involved as well it should have been brilliant but by the end we are given what could have been the ending of any Jennifer Anistion headed lame rom-com.