Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Movie Review: Keeping Up With The Joneses


Taking some old movie elements such as a "spy comedy", a new "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and an ordinary suburban couple, "Keeping Up with the Joneses" is a feel good action comedy which takes on marital woes to a whole new level. 

Jeff and Karen Gaffney (Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fischer) are your typical suburban couple, he works in HR while she designs bathrooms (apparently "Brooklyn Urinals" are a thing). The Gaffneys may need some work with their marriage as a house free of kids (who are away in camp) equates to binge watching drama shows instead of passionate love making (complete with candles potentially burning down the house). 

Bored and unfulfilled, Karen obsesses over the new neighbors, the Joneses, who just moved in their perfect cul-de-sac, whom Karen insists are "too perfect". 



Natalie (Gal Gadot) tall, sexy and beautiful has a food blog and help children from Sri Lanka. Tim, (Jon Hamm) handsome and debonair is a travel-destination writer, who has been to so many exotic places.

Tim takes an interest on Jeff, whom he charms and tries to befriend and in the process gather information. You see, Jeff works in the Human Resources department of a highly secretive company called MBI. While others see Jeff's work as "unimportant" he is the perfect target for the Joneses who turn out of course to be-spies.

Hilarity ensues as these odd couples take on the evil "Scorpion". 

There may have been a few plot holes for me (SPOILER ALERT) the Joneses' house exploding for them to return casually in a cab (what if there are other nosy neighbors spying) was very "un-spy like". I think the whole house exploding was a rushed way to get the Joneses out of suburbia. 


Even if Gal Gadot is gorgeous to look at on screen, I just see her as "Wonder Woman", the accent may have helped her secret agent-mysterious cover but I'd really like to see her in a role without the accent. Also, did they really have to end up making her Israeli? (As she really is) couldn't she just have stayed Greek? I know, I know, I'm just nitpicking here. Last- I also didn't think that she and Jon Hamm had that chemistry on screen. 

I did like the sudden change in pace in a couple of scenes and Galifianakis and Fischer are hilarious and definitely my favorite part of the film. 

7 out of 10. A nice movie to watch if you're looking for a little action, some laughs and a little crazy insight on suburban marriages, "Keeping Up With The Joneses" is now showing! 

#KeepingUpPH #KUWTJ 



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