The Joneses

The ironic message of The Joneses is not does all the money in the world make you happy? But does all the money in the world plus all the latest gadgets in the world make you happy? Well, this is a film so of course it doesn’t you fool! The set up for The Joneses is that the eponymous family (David Duchovny, Demi Moore, Amber Heard, Ben Hollingsworth) arrive in an already loaded suburb and impress the locals with their golf clubs, watches, cars etc. However, it’s all a scam, the Joneses are actually a fake family, planted in order to boost sales of anything and everything that costs and arm and a leg. That’s not a plot spoiler by the way, as though the Joneses aren’t revealed to the audience as to who they really are until about 20 minutes into the film, this plot twist scene, which is meant to make the audience sit up in their chairs, is pretty much telegraphed from the start. Derrick Borte's dramedy just about succeeds in both areas, with some subtle laughs thrown in throughout the film before a moving key emotional scene at the end. You’ll also get a kick out of some of the gadgets on show, though whether you have the wallet of course is a different matter. One problem with the film though, apart from its somewhat credibility stretching premise, is that would all those clearly rich people actually need any encouragement to buy such treats in the first place? Plus, do people really want to watch a film about a load of people rolling in green? However, this is well acted by the four main protagonists, especially by Heard and Hollingsworth as the children of the fraudulent brew, and it’s an unusual film, if not an entirely memorable one.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
This is somewhat thin, but what it does has is enjoyable enough, though the ending is a bit fudged. Rating: 6/10