This numbing barrage of demolition humor scores only a modest laugh count.
Duplex (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:28
Fresh:9
Rotten:19
Average Rating:4.8/10
Consensus: It was funnier when it was called Throw Momma From the Train.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for sexual content, language and some violence
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Sep 26, 2003 Wide
Box Office: $9,652,000
Synopsis: Danny DeVito directs Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore in this devilish black comedy reminiscent of DeVito's THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN and THE WAR OF THE ROSES. Alex Rose (Stiller) and Nancy... Danny DeVito directs Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore in this devilish black comedy reminiscent of DeVito's THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN and THE WAR OF THE ROSES. Alex Rose (Stiller) and Nancy Kendricks (Barrymore) are a young, professional, New York couple in search of their dream home. When they finally find the perfect Brooklyn brownstone they are giddy with anticipation. The duplex is a dream come true, complete with multiple fireplaces, except for one thing: Mrs. Connelly (Eileen Essel), the cranky old lady who lives on the rent-controlled top floor. Assuming she is elderly and ill, they take the apartment but their hopes are quickly dashed when they realize that Mrs. Connelly is an energetic senior who enjoys watching her television at top volume day in and day out and rehearsing in a brass band. A writer, Alex, is attempting to finish his novel against a looming deadline. However, each day as he begins to write, he is interrupted by Mrs. Connelly's numerous demands and requests and what begins as a nuisance quickly escalates into an all-out war. When Nancy loses her job and the pair are trapped at home together with Mrs. Connelly, their rage turns to homicidal fantasy as they plot ways to get rid of their no-good neighbor. Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore are pitch perfect as a good-natured couple who, like most DeVito characters, are driven by rage to do very bad things. [More]
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Ben Stiller, Eileen Essell, Harvey Fierstein
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Ben Stiller, Eileen Essell, Harvey Fierstein, Justin Theroux, Robert Wisdom, James Remar
Director: Danny DeVito
Director: Danny DeVito
Screenwriter: Larry Doyle, John Hamburg
Producer: Stuart Cornfeld, Nancy Juvonen, Drew Barrymore, Ben Stiller
Studio: Miramax Films
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Release:
Mar 2, 2004
Reviews for Duplex
Essell is brightly malevolent, and Stiller is perfect as the well-meaning homeowner.
If you want to see Danny DeVito do good work, see him in Anything Else right now, the Woody Allen movie.
Duplex draws out the worst in us, making us laugh even when we know we shouldn't.
It doesn't take long before you want to, well, just move out and leave these characters in their rent-controlled limbo.
Duplex has its wacky, funny moments, but it misses the mark of a clever, dark comedy.
If there is one positive thing about Duplex, and saying this requires a huge amount of charity, it's the performance by little known Eileen Essel, who musters whatever grace and genuine humour this sad little picture can manage.
Duplex confirms the suspicion among many of us that today's mainstream movies are simply vehicles for selling other things -- in this case, the cause of New York City landlords.
It'd make a great first-date movie for Donald Trump and Leona Helmsley. But who else would actually see this situation as comic?
Definitely better than DeVito's last movie, the disastrous Death to Smoochy. Alas, it's not nearly as good as his two films from which it takes its obvious inspiration: The War of the Roses and Throw Momma From the Train.
Though accurate to a certain kind of sandwich-generation experience, Duplex is not terribly funny.
Duplex wants you to hurt when you laugh, but the pain and guilt are minor.
Stiller is the only thing Duplex has going for it, but often he's enough.
Sometimes Mr. DeVito has gone too far, pushing black humor unnervingly close to the abyss of ultimate darkness. But the unpleasantness in Duplex is handled deftly enough to keep the audience's queasiness from turning into disgust.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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