Keeping Up with the Joneses

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So, Greg Mottola, director of Superbad, Adventureland and Paul, give us his first main feature since Paul, five years ago! But this time its about a suspicious married couple, the Joneses who move into a friendly, cosy cul-de-sac of suburban American, peaking the interest of nosy neighbours, the Gaffneys. The Gaffneys played by Hangover's Alan, Zach Galifianakis (he's never going to be forgotten for that role) who looks amazing compared to the slob-of-a-man Alan was. He's the down-to-Earth kinda HR guy who's a push over, a good listener and enjoys home-brewing. Isla Fisher, who been busy since her recent baby (hence why she wasn't in Now You See Me 2) plays his wife, the paranoid, stereotypical working-from-home wife who automatically suspects something amiss with their new neighbours which leads her on to investigate. Jon Hamm, a good friend of Galifianakis, who I feel isn't such a big name over here in the UK plays Tim Jones, a supposedly successful travel writer who is actually more like Timothy Dalton's James Bond. Suave, confident and a dab-hand behind a wheel. (Hamm did a lot of the stunt driving for the film.) And finally, Mrs. Jones, played by the stunning Gal Gadot who actually owes her role having come a long way from Fast & Furious' Gisele. She quite possibly wears the trousers in this house being quite the fearless femme fatale. It's not far off this year's Central Intelligence, just with married couples put into unrealistic and awkward situations, involving some good quality action for a comedy. There's a few plot holes which is always expected and normally acceptable with these kind of comedies. There's not that much else to say about this film, here's a couple of nice touches and some laugh out loud moments, mostly owed to Galifianakis, but this movie, though slightly entertaining, is weak, predictable and too long. Unfortunately, it isn't as funny as Central Intelligence or as brilliant as last year's Spy. Have yet to watch Grimsby, but that will come soon. Running Time: 5 The Cast: 7 Performance: 6 Direction: 7 Story: 6 Script: 5 Creativity: 6 Soundtrack: 5 Job Description: 5 The Extra Bonus Points: 0 Would I buy the Bluray?: No 52% 5/10

Keeping Up with the Joneses is a good movie with a reasonably well developed plot and a fantastic comedic cast. The highlight of the film is certainly the connection and chemistry between the four main cast members, all of the individual relationships between Zach Galifanakis, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot is what makes this movie watchable. They all have great comedic timing with one another, it was clear they had trust in each other. I did feel the plot did not go as far as a viewer would expect a film about spies to go. The final act is very underwhelming, as we are expecting this big blow out, but it actually ends up being very straight forward and predictable, nothing shocking or truly exciting really occurs. As well as that, it simply is not as funny as it should have been. I had higher hopes with a cast like this, I was expecting a laugh a minute sort of movie, but there are several scenes without a single good joke in there. The writing came across as somewhat lazy, as if they gave up halfway through. It does show that a film that is verging on mediocrity can be saved simply by the sincere chemistry between its lead cast. While it is certainly flawed, Keeping up with the Joneses is still mindless fun, worth the watch if you are looking for a good comedy, but do not go out of your way to see it. A suburban couple discover their new neighbours are undercover spies. Best Performance: Jon Hamm

I don't gush over movies very often. But this movie is just plain enjoyment from beginning to end. Intelligently written, not always predictable and quickly paced, we watch everyday neighbors get sucked into the world of high intrigue once the new neighbors arrive. Those new neighbors are wildly exotic and thrillingly portrayed by Hamm and Gadot, who we last saw as the mysterious woman in Batman vs. Superman. So I'm trying to figure out the lousy IMDb ratings, I saw the same thing for Pixels. Is this over some people's heads? It is certainly written as a farce, although as believable as a farce of this nature can be. Were some viewers expecting something else? In my mind this was one of the funniest movies of this type I've ever seen and I was laughing in the theater the whole way through. Very highly recommended (notwithstanding the IMDb reviews).

Don't expect to go into this laughing all the way, as it just won't happen. And judging by the audiences reaction, it wasn't just me who felt this way. Outside of a few chuckles here and there, you could generally hear a pin drop. As a comedy this just fails on all accounts. Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher play Jeff & Karen Gaffney, a married couple who learn they are getting new neighbours. They're told that the house was purchased outright, sight unseen, and it's suspected that these newcomers may not be who they seem for some reason. Turns out they're actually spies. Jeff works as an HR rep for an aerospace company, so after these spies buy the house next to him, they invite themselves over and secretly bug the house in order to see what they know, if anything, about leaked secrets. Also by working in HR, the male spy befriends Jeff as he may know who has spilled secrets to him in confidence as he knows that Jeff's computer has been used to send secret e-mails. After some mediocre and largely unfunny detective work by Karen in following the female spy into Bloomingdales, and then later discovering a bugging device in the art glass present they were given, it's revealed that they are indeed spies who are ingratiating themselves to everyone who works at the aerospace company and who they believe has information that can lead them to suspected espionage. The plot is fairly formulaic in regards to uncovering the operation and in order to finally bring down the kingpin behind the whole affair, and after being exonerated of any espionage, Jeff and Karen are recruited to pose in place of the 2 spies, so they are effectively used as bait, and after some more ho-hum unfunny moments, the operation unravels itself, good guys win, bad guys die and everybody goes back to their lives. Sadly this could have been a lot funnier had they not gone for ridiculous sight gags and obvious set-ups for the ensuing humour that followed. Personally I don't think Galifianakis is all that funny and he seemed bored from start to finish. There are a few moments where this generates a chuckle but not enough to call itself a comedy. It squanders a decent story by splicing in too many "here comes a joke" moments instead of just letting the comedy flow naturally. This could have been better written as an action film with the moments of levity thrown in and it would have had a much better reception. I gave this 3 stars mainly because the story IS interesting (albeit predictable), despite lacking any real humour. Don't waste your money to see this, wait for it to come out on TV and you'll enjoy it more.

'Keeping Up with the Joneses' is a fair Spy-Comedy, that has some fun moments. Its got some laughs, despite all the silliness around. What else did you expect anyway? 'Keeping Up with the Joneses' Synopsis: A suburban couple becomes embroiled in an international espionage plot when they discover that their seemingly perfect new neighbors are government spies. Zach Galifianakis, Jon Hamm, Isla Fisher and Gal Gadot are the true strengths of 'Keeping Up with the Joneses'. Zach is happily stupid & raises some good laughs, Fisher is fabulous, Hamm is anything but a ham & Gadot is the hottest thing you'll see on the big screen in a long time. The 4 talented actors sportingly deliver in this predictable comedy, showing us their potential yet again. Michael LeSieur's Screenplay is fair, with some hilarity in store, while Greg Mottola's Direction is satisfactory, at best. On the whole, 'Keeping Up with the Joneses' is a great way to kill a dull afternoon.

Save for maybe Bad Moms, 2016 hasn't been very kind to comedy. And after just recently being submitted to such atrocities as The Boss and Masterminds, I was ready for another big disappointment at my local theater. A free ticket to see Keeping Up with the Joneses, as well as a chance of getting a "boys night out" with my neighbor, convinced me to give this latest offering a chance after all. Boy, was I in for a treat. Keeping Up with the Joneses has this great nostalgic feeling, a kick back to those wonderful 80's comedies that fuse action and humor, while actually making you care for what the characters are going through. It's a bit of the oddball The 'Burbs with elements of classic spy flicks like True Lies or Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Zach Galifianakis is hardly recognizable, after shedding most of his weight, but he still keeps his iconic lovable every-man persona intact. He's also one of two things that keep Joneses moving in a smooth pace, with his perfect timing and hilarious delivery making way for tons of good laughs. Isla Fisher does a decent job at portraying Karen Gaffney (opposite Galifianakis's Jeff), a 40 something mom leading a rather dull life in suburban America, who finds her semi-average life challenged when a new couple moves next door. Played by Mad Men's Jon Hamm and Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot, the new neighbors seem at first too good to be true: stunningly beautiful, glamorous and in love, they immediately raise Karen's suspicion, although average joe Jeff insists new neighbor Tim is his new BFF and ignores all the obvious writings on the wall. When they eventually expose the Joneses true identities, all hell breaks loose - and the film turns into a wild mixture of suspense and fun, while finding the perfect pace to juggle both. Which brings us to the other strong angle to this film, Gal Gadot, which to me was a true revelation! So far, Gadot has had brief appearances in the DC Comics and Fast and Furious franchises, and she has yet to carry such a big role on her soldier. Her accurate portrayal of Natalie Jones is a great sign of things to come. The 31 year-old Israeli actress delivers her jokes while keeping a deadpan expression, and manages to steal almost every scene she's in with her exotic accent and stunning stature. Actually, Gadot alone is a good enough reason to watch the movie - and throwing her into the heart of every-town America has a great payoff once push comes to shove. All in all, I found myself laughing, I was emotionally attached to the story and could relate to the characters and at the end - Keeping Up with the Joneses is as good a take as any on Middle America, and the ever so quoted phrase: The grass is always greener on the other side. If you're over 25, married and have kids, you'll love it even more.

The Gaffneys' lives are interrupted by the arrival of new neighbours, whose stunning looks are matched only by the sophistication of their lives. Tim Jones is an accomplished travel writer, and his wife, Natalie, is a social media consultant, cooking blogger and heroine to Sri Lankan orphans. The Gaffneys soon find themselves in the centre of international espionage that gives them a glimpse of life outside their comfort zone......... Keeping Up With The Joneses is one of those comedies that offers absolutely nothing new to the genre of comedy, and basically borrows from films that are a lot better than this, and funnily enough, a lot worse. If this was made in the eighties, it would have starred Steve Martin and Shelly Long as the atypical suburban couple, and probably Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as the titular couple, and it would have been an absolute smash, because it would have felt relatively fresh. Jump forward thirty years, and with films like Mr & Mrs. Smith, Killers, Housesitter, and a never ending plethora of fish out of water comedies, it feels stale, well worn, and relies on the star power of the cast. The thing is, Galfiniakas is way out of his comfort zone playing the Everyman, and Gal Gadot is incredibly wooden in her role. So much in fact, it's setting the alarm bells ringing for Wonder Woman. So the couple get into scrapes, find a little excitement in their mundane lives, and just like True Lies, assist in the final 'hilarious' act when special guest star Patton Oswald makes his appearance as the end of game bad guy. But it isn't a terrible film, there are a couple of amusing moments, and Fisher plays the jittery housewife with panache, but you can't see those two as a couple. If you want a comedy that is safe, and offers nothing new, then you may get a few giggles out of it. Otherwise, if you never see this movie, trust me, you've already seen it.