“The Joneses” dives into the well of American society and emerges with something profound to say. The subject here is our drive toward materialism and the competition to have something more than, better than, bigger than, more expensive than the folks next door.


Director-writer Derrick Borte approaches the subject with a twist. You know the Joneses (made famous in songs like the 1969 hit by the Temptations “Don’t Let the Joneses Get You Down). I remember my childhood neighbors, the Joneses, dancing to that tune as if the record automatically elevated them over the rest of the families in our Philadelphia working class neighborhood. The Joneses are supposed to be the IT family on the block, envied by all.


In this movie, though, The Joneses aren’t really a family at all. Rather, they are a stealth marketing team made up of a mother—played by Demi Moore; a father played by David Duchovny, and two teenagers, a boy and a girl. The four are considered attractive, their house is plied with the latest furnishings and art, they rock the latest fashions and sport the latest toys—from video cell phones, to golf clubs, to expensive sports cars. As their boss tells them, “You have to sell a lifestyle, an attitude. If people want to be like you, they’ll want what you’ve got.


While the obvious storyline is about the business and power of marketing to pliant consumers, this film delves deeper into the often bitter consequences of status-seeking gone awry and capitalism run amok. The drive for more, more, more can drive you to ruin. When is enough ever enough? Is anything really “to die for?”


In his directorial debut, Borte’s method for offering up status symbols is very matter-of-factly. This film is not a spoof. Though it has its funny moments, it is not a comedy. Fans of reality TV shows may feel that “The Joneses” has a feel similar to that genre—up close and seemingly personal, with a camera present always following the stars, capturing pivotal and private moments.


This film also asks us to think about what it means to live a lie—any kind of lie. The ideas of selling and dishonesty are presented so closely in tandem here that it is difficult to not explore the links between marketing and the big lie in our everyday lives.


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