Keeping Up with the Joneses: A Forgettable Comedy Plagued by Uninspired Humor and a Rote Storyline (4K)

The Film:

Spy comedies is another one of those sub-genres that can be rather difficult to get right. There are a number of filmmakers who have been pretty successful at it, with films like "Top Secret!," "In Like Flint," and "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery," but then there are several other projects, which shall remain nameless, that haven't been able to find the humor in the idea of spoofing such a popular & serious type of film.

One of these that seemed to come and go in a flash was Greg Mottola's "Keeping Up with the Joneses," which, despite having some big names in the cast, failed to connect with both critics & audiences, leading to poor reviews and a box office bomb. The film was released on 4K quite some time ago, and re-issued only a couple of years ago, but with it celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, we're going back to take a look at this forgotten comedy to see how well it holds up. Does this entry in the spy spoof sub-genre deserve more credit than it was given during its initial release, or did it earn the exact reputation it received at the time?

As the film opens, we meet Jeff Gaffney (Zach Galifianakis), who works in HR at a defense contractor company, and his wife Karen (Isla Fisher), an interior designer. When their new neighbors, Tim (Jon Hamm) and Natalie Jones (Gal Gadot), move in, they immediately start getting to know them and hanging out together. However, Karen soon becomes suspicious of them after catching Tim snooping around their house and witnessing Natalie making what she thinks is a dead drop. Meanwhile, Tim takes Jeff to a bizarre snake restaurant where he gets him drunk and tries to get him to talk about his work. We soon realize that Tim & Natalie aren't the "travel writer" & "social media consultant" they claim to be, putting Jeff & Karen right in the middle of a very dangerous situation.

When it comes to making a spoof of the spy genre, there are a couple of different ways filmmakers can go about it. You can do what most do and just focus on the spies themselves, who will typically get caught up in some wild adventure where plenty of silly things can happen, or you can do what "Keeping Up with the Joneses" does and have ordinary people get roped into the over-the-top spy action. Both approaches have potential for some decent comedy, though the former does seem to be the more popular of the two, so the success of the parody really ends up coming down to how well the writer is able to tap into that potential.

Unfortunately, in this case, screenwriter Michael LeSieur, whose other credits include the poorly-received comedies "You, Me and Dupree" & "The Maiden Heist," appears to have missed the mark on the comedy aspect of the project completely. He tries to throw in really easy, obvious jokes & gags every now and again, but in all honesty, not one of them is memorable or particularly funny. As far as its storyline, it takes a rather obvious route, focusing on the pairs of characters bumbling about as they investigate their mysteries, eventually coming together for a major action sequence and a climax that has the regular couple getting involved in an undercover operation.

All that's to say that there's very little that's remarkable about it, and the only thing that really is are some of the cast, which includes a fun, last-minute appearance by Patton Oswalt as the main villain. Aside from that, with its uninspired humor and rote plot, it's not hard to see why it was dismissed pretty quickly by critics & audiences when it came out a decade ago. The best spy spoofs are those that actually put a fair amount of effort into developing an exciting, quirky plot that will not only have viewers engaged with the story & characters, but have them laughing at the silliness that can be wrung from the over-the-top nature of the genre, all of which are basic necessities that "Keeping Up with the Joneses" ultimately fails to deliver.

Video/Audio:

"Keeping Up with the Joneses" comes to 4K in a 2.40:1, 2160p Ultra High Definition transfer of outstanding quality, presenting a beautifully sharp & clear picture throughout its entire 105-minute duration. Likewise, the 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, 20th Century Fox has done a wonderful job in both areas for the film's 4K release.

Special Features:

Spy Game (12 Minutes): A featurette that goes behind the scenes of the making of the film.

Keeping Up with Georgia (5 Minutes): The cast & crew discuss filming in Atlanta.

Deleted Scenes (5 Sequences, 18 Minutes)

Conclusion:

With "Keeping Up with the Joneses," director Greg Mottola and screenwriter Michael LeSieur attempt to deliver a fun & exciting spoof of the spy genre, but sadly, with its uninspired humor & rote storyline, what they end up with is a parody that has very little to offer besides some likeable cast members, ultimately leaving us with a forgettable comedy that was understandably dismissed upon its original release.

Score: 2.5/5

Now available on 4K.

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