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07/13/2017 12:01 AMRated R
In these volatile political times, it seems important to enjoy a good, deep belly laugh, or at least a smile, that will last a while after leaving a comedy. You won’t find much to laugh about in The House—sadly, because Saturday Night Live alumni Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler have often made everyone roll in the aisles (especially when he imitates former President George W. Bush and she parodies Hillary Clinton). They both look tired as a married couple in The House. Even when joined by Jason Mantzoukas (The Lego Batman Movie), who worked with Poehler in TV’s Parks and Recreation and plays their neighbor Frank, they still can’t lift the antics off the ground.
Long story short, Ferrell as Scott and Poehler as Kate want to send their daughter off to Bucknell University. Alex (Ryan Simpkins: Anguish, A Single Man) has her heart set on the school, but her parents learn at a town meeting that her scholarship from the community has been rescinded. The crooked town councilman (Nick Kroll: Sing, Loving) has stolen the money and also plans to build a town swimming pool. What is the bereft couple to do? Why, of course, transform Frank’s basement (his wife has left him) into an illegal casino and milk all the neighbors for the tuition.
Watching the uptight neighbors transform into gambling maniacs sounds like fun, right? Not even Scott and Kate’s careening into mobster-like personae, complete with sleazy get-ups and dabbling in drugs can propel this misadventure into anything near laughable. Getting down and dirty, Ferrell and Poehler try to look engaged, but instead, the stunts of screaming and tossing money around appear to happen on one level of slow-motion action.
When all else fails, the movie descends into fake gore. When the trio attempts to torture a real mobster, Scott struts around with a hatchet, naming himself The Butcher. He cuts off the man’s finger, by mistake, and as fake blood spurts all over Scott’s clothes, the cry goes out, “It won’t fit back on! Does anyone have any gum?” Ouch and cringe. In a made-to-look jovial scene, the three race around town bullying people, beating them, and feeling proud of their reign of terror in the most distasteful part of the film.
Scott comments on their new-found image: “Once you go to the dark side, it gets dark very quickly.” Not much one can do with that thin line. Director/co-writer Andrew Jay Cohen, who has collaborated with co-writer Brendan O’Brien on Neighbors and TV’s American Storage, can’t seem to bring this one out of the basement.
In the end, they all fall down, over and over. They tumble over one another to escape or for the money, and still no one in the audience is laughing. If the background music launched into, “Who Let the Dogs Out?” someone might grin, having been reminded of successful slapstick from Rat Race or It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Viewers need to keep searching for a summer comedy. The House, spoiler alert, has a happy ending, as most comedies do, but wait for Ferrell or Poehler’s next, hopefully more satisfying, efforts.
Wanted: Your Opinion (In 10 Words, More or Less)
Exception-al—best movie, director, entire cast, since 1966’s best film.
(BTW, the ‘66 reference is to A Man for All Seasons, which won a lot of awards including best actor. One difference is the present movie deals with a peripheral story to the Big Thing going on off-camera driving the action, while A Man for All Seasons goes to the core of what makes us remember Henry VIII at all, the Big Thing of that era. Still, that means I think it’s the best over the past 51 years. It would have blown my socks off—if there weren’t the well-known ordinance against wearing socks in Connecticut between April and October.)
Bill St. Paul, Beautiful downtown Guilford
We’re always looking for the community’s input—and now we’re offering you a chance to share your opinion of the latest blockbusters, foreign films, indies, and romantic comedies to hit the big screen with your neighbors! Each week, we’ll print the best reader-submitted reviews in the Living section and online at www.zip06.com. Send your 10-word movie review to Living Editor Pem McNerney at p.mcnerney@shorepublishing.com along with your name and hometown and join the conversation!