Film: The House

GENRE: Comedy

RATING: R for lots of language, violence and brief nudity
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 28 minutes

STARRING: Will Ferrell (Anchorman, Daddy’s Home, The Other Guys)

Amy Poehler (Sisters), Jason Mantzoukas (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

DIRECTOR: Andrew Jay Cohen (newcomer)

WRITERS: Brendan O’Brien & Cohen (Neighbors)

PLOT: A graduate’s parents decide to join their friend and open an illegal neighborhood casino to pay for her tuition.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: The trailer looked funny.

STORY STUFF: The film is full of laughs. It is well paced and leaves you rooting for our heroes. The problem lies in the last fifteen minutes when it becomes clear that the writers/director don’t really know how to end the movie. It’s unfortunate because I was having so much fun until then.

ACTING STUFF: Ferrell and Poehler do an admirable job. We’ve seen them have fun with these types of characters before in previous films and SNL but it is always welcome. The real standout is Matzoukas who steals every scene he is in; his wild eyes and commitment to the role is outstanding. I felt bad for the funny Nick Kroll (The League) who is subjected to the thankless bad guy, a role Jeremy Piven would have played twelve years ago.   

ARTISTIC STUFF: It’s not going for artsy but they do have fun with some montages and slow motion shots. The soundtrack also has some ballin’ money and mobster songs.

VERDICT: Three and half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like Will Ferrell and enjoy outrageous situations

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Spiderman: Homecoming, Despicable Me 3