THE JONESES

THE JONESES is a raunchy comedy about a seemingly perfect family that moves into a gated community; but, they are not what they seem.

Steve and Kate are very rich. Steve spends his days at the country club playing golf and Kate visits spas and goes shopping. Teenager Jenn has all the clothes the other girls want, and teenager Mick has all the electronic games and gadgets all the other boys want. The only thing is, they are not a family. They are co-workers posing as a family for a stealth marketing company. They make everyone in their circle of influence want the things they own to increase sales for various products.

Mastermind “handler” KC tracks the fake family’s scores and encourages Steve, who is new to this job, to increase his influence and subsequently increase product sales.

Pretending to be husband and wife, Steve and Kate eventually become romantically involved. Jenn begins having an affair with a married man from the community. Mick turns out to have homosexual lusts and attempts to kiss a fellow student but is rebuffed.

Steve befriends Larry, a neighbor, and is able to convince him and others to buy the same car, golf clubs, cigars, and the like. Larry, though, cannot keep up and ultimately commits suicide because he’s so far in debt.

Larry’s death serves as a wake up call for Steve, who realizes that he is living a lie and in some way contributed to Larry’s death. He admits to the neighbors what’s happening and is fired. Kate and the others flee from the house and get reassigned to a new city with a new “husband/father.” Steve is able to find them and pleads with Kate to leave the pretend life and go with him.

THE JONESES is a very clever and unique concept. There is fun in watching the pretend family try to influence everyone around them to buy the things that they own. The story, though, doesn’t hold up, and, by the end, the unique concept is wearing thin.

There is also a very large story hole and that is how KC the handler actually tracks sales so she can announce that Steve has influenced 4% or 15%. Their strategy is a “ripple effect” – they tell someone who tells someone else. But, how exactly is that quantified?

The characters are a bit flat, and only toward the end do viewers get to know Steve and Kate at all.

THE JONESES has strong sexual immorality in it. The “teenage daughter” is having an affair with a married man who is a friend of her “parents.” The “teenage son” has homosexual lusts and attempts to kiss a fellow male student. Also, Steve and Kate aren’t really married but they begin to sleep together.

These strong pagan, homosexual elements, some nudity, brief foul language, and other troubling elements are excessive and turn THE JONESES into an unacceptable viewing experience.