I hadn't heard anything about this one, but I just saw the trailer and was impressed. Looks a little similar in nature to The Truman show, but otherwise original. Hopefully the film is as good as the trailer!

This might serve as another vehicle for a resurgent actor/actress -- in this case Moore.

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Damn. Haven't seen Demi around in awhile. From the title, I just assumed that it was Julianne.

From the trailer, it looks like one of those movies that started out with a great idea, but ended up with a sub-par screen play. It's just going to end up being the kind of movie that's too afraid to say what it wants for fear of hypocrisy turning people away from it.

Demi Moore is an awful actress. That is all.

Yup, you nailed it; I seriously don't get what the angle is beyond they are selling stuff to people as the trailer is too frantic in it's narrative. If it was more like a family living in a QVC dollhouse, that would have been better.

Damn, I was hoping it was Julianne not Demi...

It is definitely a "timely" themed film...so it is basically like viral marketing, but in real-life and not online? Interesting...glad to see David D. back in films and in the biz though!

I caught the premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and it was much better than I thought it'd be. It gets a bit cliche at parts but Duchovny is great in it, and Amber Heard gets to spread her wings a bit more than in the past (apart from one brief nude scene). It's not an amazing film but I didn't regret watching it.

Indeed he did. I was invited to a preview screening last night and hated it from the beginning. I told the PR rep that I thought the movie was a real botched opportunity, but she was cool about me writing up a review, so I did:
http://indieethos.wordpress.com/2010...hat-backfires/

In some respects, this film is probably a good 2-4 years too late to speak of its theme of rampant consumerism as "Keeping up with the Joneses" ain't all just fun and games. It might have made for a decent 10 minute SNL skit, too.

In order to promote product consumption, a marketing business creates families out of people with good up-sale and soft skills. The general grift has a family of 4 move into a well-to-do neighborhood, flash all sort of goodies to the neighbors and friends, and plant seeds of consumption for the goodies, all dependent on the manufacturers push for their products.

For the film's faux "Joneses" family, David Duchovny, Demi Moore play husband and wife (Steve and Kate), with teenaged daughter and son (Jenn and Mick) played by Amber Heard and Ben Hollingsworth. (side note - I enjoyed staring at Amber Heard) Kate, being the manager of the family, calls the shots, while Steve might as well be a rent-a-husband. The "kids" have their own foibles. The Joneses begin with a good start on creating demand for the products they have been tasked to push (though it's never really clear how their efficacy is really measured), the new levels of consumption take its toll on the neighbors, as well as on Steve, who is new to the whole set-up and has, well, morals about the situation.

The film's screenplay could have been a bit more on the satirical side, ramping up the extremes to make it a little more funnier , instead of ironic, and playing for simple melodramatic beats in spots, which are not all that insightful or deserve the screen time. It's about 1/2 of an entertaining film, though Duchovny imbues Steve with some humanity and charm that's devoid in the rest of his family.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.