SPOILERS THROUGHOUT: I really wasn't expecting Duplex to be Oscar material but I thought I'd like it more then I did. I am a major fan of Drew Barrymore and the combination of her and Stiller had promise. I hadn't heard great things about Duplex but like to decide for myself. Unfortunately, I didn't like this. This movie I guess, was OK to start but took a turn for the worse and didn't let up. By the end I was sort of out of it. And not in a good way.
There were a number of things that bothered me about this. Number one is the mean spiritedness. Number two is the means spiritedness. And number three is the mean spiritedness. Oh yeah, maybe a few other things...
The way Duplex develops it gets to the point where one is numb watching it and just wants it to end. As Drew and Ben step up their efforts to drive the old lady out of the duplex, things go more and more wrong for them, and it's not like the audience doesn't see this coming. Every twist and turn that happens can be totally predicted. The movie gets to the point where it seems like it's one major focus is: Stiller/Barrymore try to drive old lady away, it backfires. Unfortunately, after seeing this happen about 20 times, it DOES make one a bit weary. The happenings become more and more ridiculous and when Stiller loses his book, it's at the point where it's just painful. There's nothing funny about this, and I'm not sure what the movie's point was. There is a time when something crosses the line from being funny to annoying. And watching it, I really did wonder why certain things were even put in there as they were not on the par with what the talented people involved in this, have brought to us with other films.
Duplex gets a three from me because there were a few genuinely laugh out loud funny lines. But that is only in the beginning, things turn around very quickly. I guess to sum up I'd describe this not just with the standard "disapointing" but also "puzzling." I just don't get it, either I'm quite wrong about what is actually funny, or this movie just didn't get it. I do tend to think the latter. My vote's 3 of 10.
There were a number of things that bothered me about this. Number one is the mean spiritedness. Number two is the means spiritedness. And number three is the mean spiritedness. Oh yeah, maybe a few other things...
The way Duplex develops it gets to the point where one is numb watching it and just wants it to end. As Drew and Ben step up their efforts to drive the old lady out of the duplex, things go more and more wrong for them, and it's not like the audience doesn't see this coming. Every twist and turn that happens can be totally predicted. The movie gets to the point where it seems like it's one major focus is: Stiller/Barrymore try to drive old lady away, it backfires. Unfortunately, after seeing this happen about 20 times, it DOES make one a bit weary. The happenings become more and more ridiculous and when Stiller loses his book, it's at the point where it's just painful. There's nothing funny about this, and I'm not sure what the movie's point was. There is a time when something crosses the line from being funny to annoying. And watching it, I really did wonder why certain things were even put in there as they were not on the par with what the talented people involved in this, have brought to us with other films.
Duplex gets a three from me because there were a few genuinely laugh out loud funny lines. But that is only in the beginning, things turn around very quickly. I guess to sum up I'd describe this not just with the standard "disapointing" but also "puzzling." I just don't get it, either I'm quite wrong about what is actually funny, or this movie just didn't get it. I do tend to think the latter. My vote's 3 of 10.