Duplex
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DVD details
Actor: Ben StillerBrand: Buena Vista Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
Published: 2004-03-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-03-02
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Miramax Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Duplex
DVD Review: A STRAINED COMEDIC EFFORT...
Summary: 2 Stars
I flew to Seattle a few months ago, and this was the in-flight film. I was intrigued, as I had never heard of it, and I enjoy Ben Stiller's movies. Moreover, this one was directed by Danny DeVito, and I had loved what he did with "The War of the Roses". So, I settled down to watch what I thought might be a somewhat dark comedy. After watching it, I decided that this film was chosen for in-flight viewing, as the audience was a captive one and could not leave. Had I seen it in the theatre, I am sure I would have been witness to people leaving mid-film. To add insult to injury, this film was the same one shown on the return flight.
The plot is simple. A young couple, Alex and Nancy, buy their dream home, a large and lovely apartment in a turn of the century brownstone in Brooklyn. Replete with period detail, they fall in love with it, probably paying more than they should. The good thing is that the price includes an upper apartment, which is also part of the deal and would convert their apartment into a duplex. The only caveat is that the upper apartment is rented by an ancient crone, Mrs. Connelly, who pays under a hundred dollars a month in rent, as the apartment is rent controlled.
Still, they love the apartment so much that they buy it anyway, figuring that the tenant, whom they met, would not be there much longer due to her age and seeming ill health. Once they move in, however, Mrs. Connelly appears to have recovered her health and turns out to be quite an active and spry old woman who seems determined, in her own sweet way, to make the lives of the new owners a living hell on earth. Alex and Nancy hurry and scurry to meet their tenant's insatiable demands, which wreak havoc with their personal lives. This compels them to resort to various ways of getting her to move, all of which she seemingly resists without batting an eyelash. Finally, the harried, beleaguered couple is driven to seek a more permanent solution to their landlord/tenant problem.
The film was clearly meant to be a dark comedy. It was dark, alright, because most everyone associated with it seems to have lost their way, but there is nothing really comedic about it. Ben Stiller's performance is strained, as he must have recognized early on that this film was not particularly funny. Drew Barrymore sleepwalks through her role as if she were on thorazine to quell any potentially psychotic behavior should she realize the turkey of a film in which she was acting. Harvey Fierstein manages to be annoying in the small, but pivotal, role of the real estate agent, while Swoosie Kurtz plays her role straight, rather than for laughs, and manages to avoid personal embarrassment. The only real saving grace is the performance by veteran British television thespian, Eileen Essel, in the role of Mrs. Connelly. She is the only reason the film warranted a rating of even two stars. Ms. Essel, however, must surely have a contract out on her agent for inducing her to make her feature film debut in this flop.
Description of Duplex
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