Have Fun Keeping Up with The Joneses
It’s hard not to envy the Joneses, and that’s the whole point of a new film skewering consumerism.
Imagine a family who always have the latest stuff — the coolest car, the sweetest golf clubs, and the trendiest clothes.
Wouldn’t you want to be like them? Or at least shop where they shop?
The Joneses imagines just such a scenario, giving us a faux family who exist simply to advertise products to their neighbors.
It’s the ultimate stealth marketing campaign — and a way to slam consumerism gone wild.
In an age of reboots, remakes, and sequels, The Joneses boasts a rigorously original story. And, blissfully, we don’t get a lecture every 10 minutes on the evils of having a big screen TV or fancy car. The story weaves its messages deftly into the narrative, and while it’s impossible to miss the big picture — spending on luxury items is bad, especially for those who can’t afford them — it’s also delicate in its execution.
David Duchovny and Demi Moore star as Steve and Kate Jones, a handsome married couple who move into a new neighborhood along with their equally perfect teen children. They’re a couple right out of a Norman Rockwell painting, except Steve and Kate still smooch like newlyweds.
But it’s all an act.
The “family” is a team of salespeople thrown together to sell products. When Steve hits the links he tells his golf buddies about the great new clubs he just picked up. Kate invites her neighbors over for a swanky party and confesses her scrumptious appetizers are actually from a frozen food company — available now at your local supermarket.
Kate is the boss, a veteran marketer who knows what it takes to boost their sales figures. But Steve isn’t quite sold on the concept, and sometimes when he’s playing the doting husband some real emotions surface.
The Joneses works best when it shows how flaunting the right necklace, dress, or sports car can help you gain friends in a hurry. The children of the family don’t suffer any growing pains in their new high school. Instead, they’re instant icons, beloved for their good looks and sharp sartorial choices.
The Joneses starts with satirical snap, but the film quickly falls into generic story arcs. Daughter Jenn (Amber Heard) is attracted to older, unavailable men. And son Mick (Ben Hollingsworth) has a secret beyond the fact that he’s taking part in a fictional family.
An interesting premise, and Hollyweird has been running short of those for many years. The characters and plot do not sound true to life. Yet, one can hardly expect lifelike characters in a movie comedy, where much humor depends on the exaggeration of ordinary human traits. A family of shills whose lives consist of product placements would more likely be ostracized than popular. How much time would you want to spend with a neighbor whose main topic of conversation is the superiority of his possessions over yours? Wouldn’t you resent his efforts to arouse your envy?
Urging the American consumer to ‘Keep up with the Joneses’
is how the State increases its tax revenues, and, eventually,
runs the country bankrupt.
When the economy truly tanks, and people begin to panic, they
will need a scapegoat; Who decided to spend all that money ?
‘The Woman tempted me,and I Spent.’
Wasn’t that long ago that the President of the USA said to fight terrorism, the public should go shopping, now that is Irony.
While the movie was made to be humorous, I knwo some of the people trying to “keep up with the Joneses”. They’re the ones with huge debts with an ARM, and credit cards charged up to the hilt that caused the credit crunch and they’re also looking for someone to blame instead of living responsibly and within their means.
“the joneses” can go their merry way without me. i’m quite happy in my little, paid for, house that’s just over a hundred years old. my second hand former police crown vic slicktop and comfortable suntan khaki shirts and trousers, and guns i’ve chosen for their reliability and utility, not for being “new” and “cool”, and my wife who is no longer the pretty young girl of 29 that i met on a blind date many years ago, but she has aged well and still has hugs and kisses to spare in plenty after 43 years. life is good for this old, retired, hired gun, and i’ll happily leave the rat race to those who seem to want it.
(…and i almost forgot my dog, a pit bull pup who likes to sit with me and get his ears scratched, enjoys greeting my friends at the door, and has not a mean bone in his body.)
Yeah, we almost got back into the rat race. Thank goodness my wife had better sense. We live in our paid for 35 foot travel trailer on our paid for land and drive our paid for vehicles. We don’t own any credit cards and pay for everything in cash or do without.
I abandoned the rat race several years back with no debt, only to enter the new rat race of college education for the kids, wondering how to come up with the next $20K per semester.
Lord only knows what my own children will face financing their kid’s educations.