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? 

Neighbors (2014) - Stoller's low-flying raunch turkey

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+ Most Overrated Movie of the Year 

 

Silliness is promised on this simple poster for Nicholas Stoller's Neighbors

 

With a newborn baby, our protagonist couple have entered a new phase in their lives and relationship, which is inconveniently clashing with their being neighbors to a house where a college fraternity now moves in...

 

Neighbors is written by Andrew Jay Cohen and Brendan O'Brien  (The House (2017), both) and directed by great British-American filmmaker Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)).

Not the experience of becoming parents, nor that of turning 25, 30 or 35, (it is unclear how old they are meant to be exactly), seems to have matured our protagonists to any meaningful extent. - Their dialog has a 'fucking' demonstratively placed in just about every sentence they utter, seemingly because that would make their lines funny, or? (The rationale is dubious at best.)

In any case they just aren't funny, and neither is the frat house next door. Neighbors goes on as a dick-obsessed, very low-flying, poor comedy, which even in its big party scenes didn't make me remember why parties can be fun.

It is a shame that the talented Zac Efron (At Any Price (2012)) finds himself in this cowpat, while it seems more natural that the other stars should sometimes appear in this type of trash. A 'milking scene' with Seth Rogen (Pam and Tommy (2022, miniseries)) and Rose Byrne (Annie (2014)) is the lightest moment in the film and somewhat amusing. Otherwise this amoral drinking and drugs-thrilled burp of a film is long and unfunny.

 

Related posts:

Nicholas Stoller: 2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]

The Muppets (2011) or, Man or Muppet? (co-writer)
Get Him to the Greek (2010) - Brand and Hill light up Stoller's funny music biz satire (writer-director)
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  
Gulliver's Travels (2010) or, Gulliver's Travesty (co-writer) 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) - Stoller and Segel triumph with hilarious, multifaceted romcom 

Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) - Powerhouses Carrey and Leoni buoy Parisot's uneven farce (co-writer) 

 

 

Watch a short trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 18 mil. $

Box office: 270.6 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 15.03 times its cost)

[Neighbors premiered 8 March (South by Southwest Film Festival, Austin, Texas) and runs 97 minutes. Shooting took place in 38 days from March - May 2013 in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #1 to a 49 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another 2 weekends (#2-#4), grossing 150.1 mil. $ (55.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 26.9 mil. $ (9.9 %) and Germany with 18 mil. $ (6.7 %). Stoller also directed sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016) with also the stars returning. This was Stoller's return, with an episode of The Grinder (2016, TV-series) in between. Efron returned first with a voice performance in Robot Chicken DC Comics Special II: Villains in Paradise (2014, TV movie) and theatrically in We Are Your Friends (2015); Rogen in 22 Jump Street (2014). Neighbors is certified fresh at 73 % with a 6.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Neighbors?