[yasr_overall_rating]
A suburban couple becomes embroiled in an international espionage plot when they discover that their seemingly perfect new neighbors are government spies.
As I attended the screening of “Keeping Up with the Joneses,” my expectations weren’t that high. From the trailer, it honestly looked like it could go either way: ridiculously funny or stupidly annoying. Thankfully, the former applies. I’ve never been a big fan of Zach Galifianakis, I find him to be very predictable, either too over-the-top, or the other end of the spectrum, there never appears to be any middle ground. Here thankfully, he seems to have found neutral territory and his character is likable. Very likable. He plays Jeff Gaffney, husband to Isla Fisher’s Karen Gaffney, a happy couple who live in a beautiful, secluded cul-de-sac in the suburbs of Atlanta. Having just sent their kids off to camp for the summer, they begin to relax by themselves for the first time in years but then their new neighbors move in, Tim and Natalie Jones (Jon Hamm & Gal Gadot).
He is ruggedly handsome, she is stunningly beautiful, he is a travel writer and she is a professional cook. Everyone in the neighborhood loves them and welcomes them with open arms but Karen feels something is a little off. They are almost too perfect. The couples begin to bond but one night, while the Joneses are out, Karen decides to break into their house with Jeff in tow, to find out exactly what is going on and it is here they discover that the Joneses are not who they claim to be, they are spies. Once they unearth their identities however, their lives are immediately put in danger. After Tim and Natalie tell them that they work for the CIA and that their investigation has taken them to Jeff’s workplace, a large aerospace company, where someone on the inside is selling confidential information overseas, Jeff and Karen agree to help them with their mission, with hilarious results.
While the story itself is totally unoriginal, it’s the interaction between the four main characters that carries the film. Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher are perfect as the suburban couple who never seem to take any risks or dare to leave their own comfort zones, even when being intimate, while Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot are the epitome of movie spies: accomplished, immaculate, unblemished and physically beyond compare. They pull off their action scenes with great aplomb and while they do get some laughs, they are clever enough to leave that aspect to Galifianakis and Fisher, actors who excel in comedic roles. Director Greg Mottola delivers some impressive action scenes but surprisingly, in a movie that is based solely in that particular genre, it is actually the synergy between the four main characters that elevates “Keeping Up with the Joneses” way above mediocrity.
In theaters Friday, October 21st
