The House (2017)

Review

118min

Genre:       Comedy

Director:    Andrew Jay Cohen

Cast:         Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Jason Mantzoukas…and more

Writers:     Brendan O’Brien and Andrew Jay Cohen

-Synopsis-

Looking for a way to pay for their daughter’s college tuition after her scholarship is revoked, a well-meaning but inept couple start an illegal underground casino in quiet American suburbia with a little help from their friends in this irreverent comedy from writer-turned-director Andrew Jay Cohen.

When you realise that ‘The House’ is a directorial debut from the man who conceived ‘Neighbors’ and ‘Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates’, your expectations might be understandably low and your suspicions of yet another cocky and contemptuous modern comedy with plenty of shock value are justified, but at least this film has two little things that those regrettable efforts didn’t, and which add a sliver of charm to the hit & miss comedy—a certain Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler.

Ferrell and Poehler star as the ‘Johansens’, loving parents who dread their little girl ‘Alex’ (Ryan Simpkins) fleeing the nest for college, but fear telling her that they can’t afford to pay for it even more. Enter their kooky neighbour ‘Frank’ (Jason Mantzoukas) with a hairbrained get-rich-quick scheme involving a wild underground casino in his house—a plan they go all-in for and soon get carried away with as their den of iniquity takes over the sleepy neighbourhood, and puts them on a collision course with ‘Bob’ (Nick Kroll) the corrupt local councillor.

As you might expect from a brazen modern Hollywood comedy, ‘The House’ is outrageous and ridiculous, centring the comedy around two regular Joe’s who get carried away with their new lifestyle to amusing effect, and it’s of course lewd & crude, although not as much as the revolving door of shock comedies involving more youthful characters and aimed at a younger audience. There’s also no shortage of pop-culture and film references, with Martin Scorsese’s ‘Casino’ being a major source of inspiration, in terms of both narrative and parody.

There’s also a sliver of satire here, taking aim at the innocuous facade of manicured American suburbia and what boils beneath—but it’s not exactly subtle or well thought out and is ultimately overwhelmed by a slight bit of the sublime and an excess of the ridiculous, as Ferrell gets to exercise some of his hilarious hysteria and Poehler a little of her expert deadpan delivery, in a rare screen collaboration between these two SNL alumni which ultimately feels like an opportunity wasted.

‘The House’ is not without its merits and its laughs, particularly as the Johansens get carried away with their new position as casino bosses in their little suburban world, and where the two leads and their talents begin to take off, leading into a hilariously gruesome Scorsese-inspired scene—but Ferrell and Poehler are never truly allowed to fly and there’s not enough creativity to make up for the simplicity of the plot, yet this is still a slight improvement on the slew of dull and mindless lewd comedies over the last couple of years . . . including some of Jay Cohen’s own.

The Bottom Line . . .

Unapologetically silly and ridiculous but not consistently funny or creative enough, ‘The House’ might be a slight improvement on some of the mind-numbing and unfunny Hollywood comedies over the last few years but is not exactly a promising directorial debut Andrew Jay Cohen. If you’re looking for a bit of mindless fun, a few laughs and a diluted dose of Ferrell & Poehler magic, then this film might deliver for you, but don’t be surprised if it quickly gets lost in the minefield of forgettable 21st century comedies.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Get Hard (2015)

Will Ferrell stars as pampered millionaire ‘James King’, convicted to hard jail time for fraud who through prejudice hires a young black man ‘Darnell’ (Kevin Hart) to help him survive his imminent prison stretch, but Darnell is no authority on the subject and so hilarity ensues as they try to ‘Get Hard’ in this irreverent clash-of-cultures comedy.

Directed by Etan Cohen and starring Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart and Craig T. Nelson among others.

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