An interesting premise – “stealth marketing†– the Joneses place themselves in an opulent neighborhood and coerce their neighbors to keep up with them and purchase what they are subtly hawking. This satirical look at selling and gaucheness was mildly entertaining, but it wasn’t until three quarters of the way through the movie when the sham started to fall apart, and the real drama kicked in. Characters began to show their real selves and the film quickly became worth watching.
David Duchovney and Demi Moore are the anchors for the film. As with the film itself, not much acting prowess was called upon until near the end – when both redeemed themselves, and more. Amber Herd and Ben Hollingsworth were Ok. Gary Cole as the overstretched neighbor and Lauren Hutton as the shark sales boss were nice additions.
I’m sure this movie loses some folks early on – so its biggest fault is not showing more real character soon enough.