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| Duplex |
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  (7/10)
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Runtime: 100 |
| Public Rating: 6.07 (54 votes) |
Director: Danny Devito |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Comedy |
Year: 2003 |
| Writer(s): Larry Doyle and John Hamburg |
| Distributor: Miramax |
| Reviewed by: Nate Anderson |
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Well, apparently, there is life after Death to Smoochy for Danny Devito. Granted he picked something a little lighter after the pitch-black "Smoochy". Still it is definately his brand of comedy with everything just a little skewed in a hyper-reality sense.
The film opens with an interesting animated sequence that sets up that Drew Barrymore and Ben Stiller (as Nancy and Alex, respectfully) are looking for a place to settle down. When we begin the movie proper we are introduced to the latest house, a Duplex in Brooklyn. They're hesitant to buy because it's at the higher end of their price range and it's in Brooklyn, while they are apparently looking for something closer to...well, it's never explained what they have against Brooklyn.
They meet the upstairs tenant, Mrs. Connelly (Eileen Essel), who on the surface appears to be a sweet little old lady. Nancy and Alex eventually decide to buy the place and move in (there's a funny part where Alex and Nancy look around after moving in there stuff, where Alex remarks, "That's funny...I thought we had more stuff...")
Of course, since Nancy and Alex own the building, they have become the new landlords for Mrs. Connelly. But, since it's rent control, as long as she pays her rent, they can't evict her. Almost immediately she's bothering the both of them with this, that, and the other thing. Alex is trying to write a book and is on a deadline, and Mrs. Connelly's constant interruptions are not helping at all. Pretty soon, her constant complaints and quirks start to leak into the rest of their life. Alex can't sleep because she stays up all night watching T.V, so he's forced to nap in the afternoons. And when Mrs. Connelly starts calling Nancy at work, complications continue there as well...
Eventually, driven to the brink of sanity, Nancy and Alex begin to fantasize about offing the annoying woman and eventually begin to carry out some of the fantasies, with no success. This is where the film begins to take a darker tone, but we as the audience sympathize with our leads' predicament and find ourselves rooting them on as they try to bump the old lady off.
Duplex is highlighted by wonderful comic performances by Ben Stiller, Drew Barrymore and newcomer Eileen Essel. Danny Devito gives the film a sense of hyper-reality which keeps the film from being taken too seriously. Overall, Duplex is a funny, if sometimes dark, comedy.
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