The Joneses

I was so taken with the premise of this movie -- it's an alleged comedy poking fun at conspicuous consumerism -- that I overlooked one obvious and insurmountable flaw: Demi Moore.

I'll give props to Demi for being such a hot babe at her (by Hollywood standards) advanced age. No such props for her acting ability.

Demi and David Duchovny (no comic genius himself) play actors hired to pose as husband and wife. Their "set" is an Ethan Allen-furnished McMansion, and they have two perfectly gorgeous teenage children (also actors) as accessories. They're paid to shill brand-name goods to the unsuspecting neighbors who are all taken with the good looks and material wealth of the Joneses.
The Chronic Critic was reminded of any number of Saturday Night Live sketches that start out funny and drag on too long. The Joneses begins with an interesting idea -- that marketing could become so insidious that our friends and neighbors are being paid to sell us stuff -- that falls flat about 20 minutes into the run time.

It's a comedy devoid of laughs that takes a misguided turn for the serious toward the end. What could've been an interesting character study (What made these people leave their lives behind to pose, full-time, as a model family?) is left untouched.

The moral of the story, I suppose, is that out-of-control consumerism is bad. The moral of my story is not to see a movie where Demi Moore is the lead actress. Skip it.