Movie Preview: The Joneses

Ok, I have to give it to whoever came up with this idea. Hollywood loves liberal values. They hate almost anything not ultra-green, liberal, or anti-patriotic. There are exceptions, but they are rare these days. There have been numerous films depicting all the above, and every one of them has failed miserably. But that might change with this film.

The Joneses is a salute to the corporate greed that Hollywood hates with a burining passion (which is funny as they are a mega-corporate industry). Corporations are so desperate for your money, and so evil, that commercials on television, radio, magazines, video games, and on DVD's just isn't good enough any more. Now it's time to go direct. [funnily enough the movie is a big commerical itself]

The Joneses are a stealth marketing team. A fictional family set up to grab the attention of every family around them. They have it all. Cars, clothes, whatever widget and gadget you could ever want. And they are more than willing to let you know they have it. Just so everyone else will buy it to.



The film is dependant on the fact that you accept the concept of 'I want what they have'. A pretty easy concept to sell. If everyone thinks your grass is greener, they will want it more than their own.

The drama of the story, because a movie based on just corporate greed is hard to sell, is what about the people in this fake family? How can they deal with the stress of being the center of attention based on just what they have and not who they are?

David Duchovny looks to be likeable and the key shred of decency in this corporate swindle machine. Demi Moore is the cold-hearted "management", who only cares about the bottom line and keeps Duchony at arms distance.

The questions of the movie are simple. Can 4 people who pretend to be a family be a family? Can they deal with the pressures and difficulty of getting along, while coercing everyone around them to buy buy buy? What happens if they rally together, but the sales drop?

Generally this looks like a mediocre movie. Not the best or worst of the year, nor any year. But it has a gimmick. It looks slick and has lots of toys. Hollywood is banking on your desire to see the toys, and get a feel of the "good life", so they can swindle you out of your money while telling you how bad OTHER corporations are.

I just love the 2-faced nature of the film.

Oh, and by the way. The "good life", the people worth selling to and pretty much the only apparent people on the planet are White. Other than 1 (apparently) gay Black character - stereotypically a hairdresser - there isn't another person of color in a speaking role that I am aware of or that I saw in the credits of the film. I guess Hollywood thinks people of color are too busy watching music videos, getting high, and going to jail to be successful enough to be characters in the film, or to even afford a ticket to see it. Just an observation of mine.

Will the writers strike hurt X-files and Star Trek Films - 11.6.2007.1

Let’s touch on a few lighter moments in the news of late. With the strike of the Writer’s Guild the question of what will be happening in television shows and movies comes up. While there is no easy answer to what may be the outcome in the short term, we can see some possibilities in the further future.

One of the future movies that has been discussed is a favorite of millions from television. The X-files was a huge hit and the movie did quite well. That was directly because of the connection between the stars Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson). Add to the sexual tension the constant search for truth behind aliens and government conspiracies and you had a winning combination.

Now in a time where conspiracies run rampant, with no justification and massive emotional imperative, there is news that Mulder and Scully will be returning. Hopefully agents Dagget and the other woman will be nowhere to be found. But the need for a search for the truth may just be the thing the nation needs.

There has been no word of a script, and considering the strike it may be some time before there is any. But I would imagine that there would have to be some connection to fanatical Muslims and the Middle East. Where aliens come into this I have no idea, but as a staple of the X-files investigations I imagine they are there somewhere. Perhaps Osama Bin Laden is a shape-changing alien? It’s possible.

However that works out, it should be a welcome treat. I expect to hear more about the up-coming film in 2008 with a release in 2009. Keep an eye out.

In further news on the adventures of the Enterprise and her famous Star Fleet crew I found a few notes about who else may be in the film. Besides the inclusion of Simon Pegg (the only person I have heard of or seen work from in the new cast) there is news that Leonard Nimoy will also be in the film. So far he is the only member of the original Star Trek cast that will be in the latest film.

The big surprise is that William Shatner (the stylish and memorable James Tiberius Kirk) will not be in the film. It seems that while he and Spock were initially expected to be in the film (DeForest Kelly died and thus cannot be) there was a breakdown in the talks and Shatner is out. Considering this is a story of how all the crew came together, and that they will have one of the crucial leading trio in the film, not including Kirk seems dumb.

There would be no Star Trek series, multiple iterations, and countless fans worldwide were it not for the unique style of Shatner’s Kirk and the complimenting work by Nimoy’s Spock. Plus the continued success of William Shatner after Star Trek in several television shows (up to the current Boston Legal), books, and the most unique singing career [you have to hear him sing Rocketman] seems to beg the question why he is not in the film.

It’s just one more question on how this film will work out. The unknown Chris Pine [at least to me] and cast may work out fine. But with so many actors of limited fame, or credibility, a strike by writers, and only one member of the original cast there may be serious questions on how viable this film may be. One thing may be reliable though. Given the strike the Christmas 2008 release date probably will be pushed back until some time in 2009. I’m sure more will be known by then.