The life of an ordinary family who live in a happy life in a city and having a beautiful and comfortable house, has been changed completely when they face a problem that turns upside down their entire life and forces them to move into a suburban house, the thing that brings terrible for them and forces them to avoid speaking to anyone of their neighbors.
Mr. Borte conjures up a pleasant Stepford that runs less on robotic conformity than on endless, anxious competition. The key to the film is that it allows this life to have some real appeal.
Independent (UK)
April 12, 2011
Borte, directing his first film, does a smooth, confident job, so that even though the set-up isn't quite plausible you're happy to go along with it.
As interesting as the message is with this film, it is equally as hypocritical of the movie industry to shake its finger at fads, trendsetters and materialistic nonsense.
It makes for good, although not great, satire of the consumer culture that helped wreck the economy.
Shadows on the Wall
April 12, 2011
A darkly comical satire about affluence might seem a bit ill-timed during a global recession. But a strong cast makes this film very watchable, even as it slips into melodrama.
A cheeky little commentary on modern consumption, The Joneses offers an uneasy balance between what's funny and what's not, staying just edgy enough to be uncomfortable while hitting its targets.
[Demi Moore is] She's one reason to see writer-director's Derrick Borte's zeitgeist fable The Joneses. Though she's not the only one.
Paste Magazine
April 12, 2011
Think of it as an inverted Truman Show, with David Duchovny and Demi Moore as yuppified secret salesmen hawking an idealized suburban lifestyle while incognito.
Even with decent turns from the leads, and a usefully soulful one from Gary Cole as a neighbor inclined to do the proverbial keeping up, the film can't always manage to justify itself as an actual movie instead of merely a clever concept.
