This is how 'out of
the loop' I was -- I had no idea "Duplex" was
directed by Danny DeVito until I saw the credits at the
end of the film. I noticed his voice as narrator at
the beginning, but did not put two and two together.
Why? Because, frankly, this is the worst film he has
directed to date, and that includes "Death to Smoochy",
a film I enjoyed, despite numerous condemnations from
thousands of other critics.
Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore star as Alex Rose and Nancy
Kendricks, husband and wife who decide to buy a duplex
apartment in Brooklyn, New York. They cannot believe
how cheap the place is, even when real estate agent Harvey
Fierstein takes them to meet their upstairs neighbor, an
elderly woman named Mrs. Connelly (Eileen Essel). He
tells them, 'the old soul hasn't been feeling too well
lately', leading them to believe they might not have an
upstairs tenant for long. Alas, her health quickly
improves and she turns the lives of her landlords into a
living hell, with everything from keeping the television
of deafening sound levels and accusing Stiller of sexually
assaulting her, when all he was doing was trying to save
her from choking.
This film has a few genuine laughs. I liked the
scene in which Stiller and Barrymore are fantasizing how
they would kill the old lady. I also liked how
Stiller and Barrymore's characters were very close to the
way most people would have been. They were
frustrated and did not like the old lady, but were too
compassionate to turn down an elderly woman in need of
assistance. Alas, "Duplex" is basically a
one annoyance after the other, eventually leading the two
main characters to contemplate actual murder, a step we
feel necessary ourselves, by that time.
The ending just kind of creeps up on the audience -- I
don't think anyone was expecting it so soon. And,
the attempted twist at the end does little for the film,
other than make some of the 'accidents' and 'coincidences'
seem less implausible. Stiller and Barrymore are
moderately charming, though Stiller's comedic talent is
ultimately wasted on deadpan DeVito. Eileen Essel is
fabulous as the old lady, and I just cannot remember
having seen her in anything else before, which is a
shame.
"Duplex" is a flawed, but sometimes comic film
that will get lost amidst the others films of last week
and next week. It will do poorly, I expect, and slip
into a moderately comfortable video shelf life. That
may be the best. DeVito could have done much better,
and I am disappointed that his genius as director somehow
got lost on this film.
