The Joneses

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Boasting an intriguing set-up, and an excellent performance from David Duchovny in the lead role, The Joneses never quite scales the heights of satire that it wants to. This may be because the obligatory romantic angle railroads proceedings somewhat, or because the tone drastically changes towards the end. Either way, despite its many pluses, it feels like a film that never really lives up to its excellent concept.

The Joneses aren't real. They're your quintessentially perfect American family, created by a marketing company to sell products in well-to-do areas through the elusive ripple-effect. By selling themselves and their fake lifestyle, their neighbours and friends will want what they have; the cool phones, big screen TV and inordinately priced sports car. But even sham families have their problems and the Joneses have a closeted gay son, a slutty daughter with a penchant for married older men, and a husband falling for his fake wife.

In a parallel universe somewhere, David Duchovny has George Clooney's career; both guys starred in huge hit shows during the 90s, and both were up for the part of Batman in Joel Schumacher's ludicrous second take on the caped crusader. It turned out that unholy mess of excreted cinematic bile was the the best to happen to Clooney's career. Duchovny, meanwhile, impressed in flop movies, and eventually went back to TV and won a series of awards for Californication. Here he's great in another all-too-infrequent theatrical outing; charismatic, funny and charming, he's perfectly cast as the salesman excelling in the ruse of a perfect husband.

When Duchovny is front and centre, befriending Gary Cole's desperate neighbour to drain his disposable income, the film works wonderfully. When it delves a litte darker, it seems at odds with the breezy romance continually being pushed to the fore. Demi Moore is fine, but she can't bring anything to her thinly written character, while the two kids are extremely effective at proving the movies point, but are given the short end in terms of characterisation. Proceedings invariably become more socially relevant towards to end, but any impact the ending may have had is sidetracked by the tying up of romantic loose ends.

Still, the concept here alone marks this smart enough to warrant a watch and, for the most part, those inherent smarts shine through.