The House (2017) - Young filmmaker career-crashes with starry comedy flop

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The two stars look silly on this poster for Andrew Jay Cohen's The House

Two really goofy parents find themselves in a pickle, when their daughter gets into her dream college - but without a scholarship. - Could an underground casino in their basement be the solution to their financial woes?

 

The House is written by co-writer/co-producer Brendan O'Brien (Neighbors (2014)) and debuting co-writer/co-producer/director Andrew Jay Cohen (American Storage (2006, short)).

Will Ferrell (Zeroville (2019)) and Amy Poehler (Sisters (2015)) almost compete in silliness here and in that way play two fairly similar characters in The House, a film that shows that the two together is no comedy match made in heaven. The film is simply rarely very much fun, although to some degree it may amuse and entertain lightly.

The House deals with the hysterical monetary demands of American middle class life, - and the ludicrous individuals that seem to grow currently in this section of society. The film is like a sketch blown up to feature length without much success but with plenty of violence, gambling and Nick Kroll (Sing 2 (2021)) as a corrupt council chairman. The House is a forgettable trifle.

 

Related post:

 

Andrew Jay Cohen: Neighbors (2014) - Stoller's low-flying raunch turkey (co-writer)

 

 

Watch a 1-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 40 mil. $

Box office: 34.1 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.85 times its cost)

[The House premiered 26 June (Los Angeles) and runs 88 minutes. Shooting took place around September 2015 in California, including in Los Angeles. The long period before release indicates that the studio realized they had a dud on their hands. The film opened #6 to an 8.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 25.5 mil. $ (74.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 3.4 mil. $ (10 %) and the UK with 1.5 mil. $ (4.4 %). Cohen seems to have ended his career in movies completely after The House. Ferrell returned in Daddy's Home 2 (2017); Poehler in 4 TV credits prior to her theatrical return in Wine Country (2019). The House is rotten at 20 % with a 3.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The House?