Fridae

There’s a short interlude in The Corporation where Marc Barry, an ‘economic spy’, tells the audience that corporate espionage and stealth advertising exist. Apparently, people buy things more readily when they are not aware of the hard sell. In fact, people consume because they need to sustain their identities, lifestyles, and sense of self. We buy consumer goods because we want to stand out from our peers. We’re like them but better than them! And in this world where you’re either a follower or a setter of trends, who better to act as a corporate shill than your neighbours?

In The Joneses (do you get the pun already?), Demi Moore heads a sales team masquerading as a family unit, and their mission is to get their suburban neighbours to buy whatever lifestyle products the company is engaged to promote. That’s right: Mr Jones (David Duchovny) is not really the father. She’s not the mum or even married to Mr Jones. Their two popular A-list kids are obviously not relations. But because they’re a picture perfect model of a model family, they set the buying and fashion trends of their friends and associates, you see?

I’d like to point out that the writer, producer, and director of this film used to be an ad man. He knows what he’s talking about, which is why the premise and the unfolding story in this film feel so plausible. The scary thing is there is a wealth of social science research that describe and explain consumption patterns and trends in almost the same way as this film?

As a satire on advertising and consumption, The Joneses hits all the right points for most of its runtime. In its best moments, it possesses a documentary or even cinema verite quality which sharpens the satire. You might call this a one-joke film – but it sustains itself well with just that one joke. Its weakest moments, ironically, is when Derrick Borte is convinced that making a satire isn’t good enough, and tries to wrap up a fascinating and wicked observational film with melodrama and moralising.

For the most part, though, The Joneses is fun to sit through.