The House Review

R: language throughout, sexual references, drug use, some violence and brief nudity.

Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Village Roadshow Pictures, 

Cast: Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Ryan Simpkins, Jason Mantzoukas, Nick Kroll, Cedric Yarbrough

INTRO: Everyone has a guilty pleasure. I know people from my family who bask in the trashiness of Tyler Perry films. I have friends you love to watch Adam Sandler movies. If there are any guilty pleasures of film that I have they are R-rated Warner Bros./New Line Cinema movies. There’s something odd about R-rated Warner Bros./New Line Cinema movies that I enjoy. They always look like they’re made by the same production team while abiding by the same laws of comedy, but I always tend to appreciate them. They have ways to tickle my funny bone. I liked some of their releases such as Get Hard, Keanu, Central Intelligence and Fist Fight. Then sometimes they have a way to annoy the crap out of me with releases such as Horrible Bosses 2, Vacation, and Tammy. With these films, I’ve experienced either hard belly laughs or desperation for escape from the theater. Now we have The House a film with an odd synopsis, but two hysterical leads. This has to be a guilty pleasure for me right?

Scott and Kate Johansen must figure out a way to earn some money after their daughter's scholarship falls through. When all else fails, the desperate couple join forces with their neighbor Frank to start an underground casino in his home. As the cash rolls in and the good times fly, Scott and Kate soon learn that they may have bitten off more than they can chew. 

THE GOOD: The film’s plot has an elaborate set-up. It is a weird premise, but it does a great job building it up. You have this married couple who don’t have the funds to get their daughter into her dream college. They don't only look to investors but also their city council who should have the money to afford it for them, but alas they do not. They also have a neighbor named Frank, played by Jason Mantzoukas whose on the verge of killing himself if his friends don’t help him cope with his wife leaving him. Granted I hate Jason Mantzoukas in movies because his personality is always grating to me for he’s always loud, obnoxious, and in your face, but at first he's introduced as an empathetic guy. After taking him to Vegas for a weekend and learning about gambling, Frank Scott, and Kate decide to turn Frank's house into a casino. That is an elaborate setup.

Though this is their first feature where they're paired together, Ferrell and Poehler have comedic chemistry throughout. You have two comedians who originated from SNL, so they're skillfully used to ad-libbing lines when the script is too thin for them to work with. These two performers truly elevate the film's comedy with their chemistry. Its not the ad libbing which honestly does work at some points, but the on-screen presence they share together. Unlike the past several Will Ferrell comedies where he's paired with a co-star who enables his childlike behavior that we've seen through most films in his career, pairs him up with someone who keeps him grounded. Amy Poehler is the one who becomes the let loose wild card of the movie. She's the one who always does something childish in every other scene from bickering to cut off a guy's peeing on her Cul-de-sac . Ferrell is the one who enables her character until he gets on her level. For the most part, Poehler becomes the Will Ferrell of the movie.

This isn't one of those comedies that have its leads providing all of the laughs for its one willing to open up the floor to its other actors. One prime example is comedian Rob Hubbell. I’ve recently seen this guy show up in numerous of R-rated comedies but never on long enough to deliver a joke (Keanu) or make a funny one (Baywatch). Though he’s in this for long, Hubbell steals the show every chance he gets.

There are set pieces in the movie that aren’t entirely clever, but funny in their own way. It is not a film with a premise to have an excuse to ad-libbed jokes for 90 minutes. The last time that worked was for Anchorman 2, and that was released nearly four years ago. Oh wait, what am I talking about? This totally is a movie just made for an excuse for ad-libbing for 90 minutes.

THE BAD: Although the film made me laugh, this is the first time I finally figured out WB’s formula when it comes to R-rated comedies. As bizarre as this premise is, the film somehow manages to turn something that could've been smart into a goddamn checklist of elements that are needed to provide for a general audience. For the entire time, I felt the corporate gears shift as I saw every trope played out for comedic purposes. There isn't anything new or any risks that are taken regarding story or comedy. It is a film with a thin script that relies on comedic leads ad-libbing. It works for an SNL skit but not an 88-minute movie.  There are several funny sequences, but mugging and adlibbing prolong a lot of them. The film is lucky that is 88 minutes so by the time you say “Hey this sucks,” the movie is over. 

The film is one of those comedies where its director tells each cast member to ad lib to their heart’s desires. Many scenes feature long pauses followed by ad-libbing. I swear to God the movie recycles a visual gag from Fist Fight which was the last Warner Bros/New Line Cinema. R-rated comedy. With each hollow laugh, you can hear the beats go, "Okay let's have a sex joke here. A visual gag here. Who can we afford for a cameo?" The film features a real Avenger sized cameo towards the end that doesn't only seem forced but also rushed. Right when its introduced to the story its lazily bought up and executed. After that sequence concludes, there is still a good fifteen minutes of film left before it rolls to credits. It's a cameo that's unnecessary, and you've seen done better in other comedies such as Keanu.

Here is the thing about the major thing about this movie that irks me, its use of money. We have Frank who says he is in foreclosure. Right after he tells Kate and Scott about his hair brained scheme, IMMEDIATELY HE AFFORDS TO RENOVATE HIS ENTIRE HOUSE. 

This doesn’t only happen once, but THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE MOVIE, he doesn’t only raise enough money to save his house but renovate it even better to make it mimics an actual casino. I give the production designers props (no pun intended) to make this generic suburban house with a basic exterior look like a well-designed casino by the interior, but in the context of the film, it doesn't even make sense at all.

LAST STATEMENT: Though it results to generic humor you expect in every R-rated comedy, Will Ferrell & Amy Poehler’s  onscreen chemistry along with its side performers makes The House an average comedy to be seen on a television screen.

Rating: 3/5 | 63%