Duplex

From the twisted mind of Danny DeVito comes this story in the style of "War of the Roses". Here, a nice NY couple finally find their dream home only to discover that they have a built in tenant. Not exactly what they were looking for but it really can't be that bad can it? The little old lady that lives upstairs turns out to be a nightmare and a half. In a variety of scenarios, most comical and some just plain, outright strange, the nice couple turn into psycho landlords and the nice old lady turns into the crazy bat upstairs. In the end, the twist comes as a true surprise. A hilarious, laugh out loud movie, this was really enjoyable and a must watch. DeVito has done it again and I can't wait to see what's coming next!!!

8/10

A couple in New York purchase a duplex at an incredibly low price. The only catch is that there is an old lady that lives upstairs and she has to remain living there. This movie was like "Madhouse" and "Home Alone" with an old lady playing Macauly Culkin.

Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore play the young couple Alex Rose and Nancy Kendricks. They are building their relationship and their careers when they buy a duplex and live in hell from then on.

The movie was funny, or it had a funny situation rather. It was amusing to see the lengths that Alex and Nancy were going through to get rid of the old lady upstairs. Truly, that woman would try the patience of Job. You don't even know the extent that you could utterly despise an old woman until you see this movie.

I watched the preview for this movie in I think was "Lost in Translation" DVD, and I laughed so much just by watching the preview, I thought it would be awesome! After all, it had Ben Stiller, Drew Barrimore and directed by one of my favorite actors ever, Danny deVito. Boy am I disappointed or what?

The idea is good, but it's just not funny, there are some funny parts, but most of the movie just makes you angry! I guess that was the point, but it was also to make you laugh, I didn't.. maybe once or twice, that's about it.

I don't regret watching this movie b/c I really wanted to, but no way I would watch it again. *** out of *****

The writer Alex Rose (Ben Stiller) and his beloved wife Nancy Kendricks (Drew Barrymore), who works in an advertisement agency, want to buy a house and cannot afford an apartment in Manhattan, but they find a wonderful old duplex in Brooklyn for living. The house, which has three fireplaces, is a dream, the price is very reasonable and the only inconvenient is the existence of the old tenant Mrs. Connelly (Eileen Essel) on the second floor. Although aware that they can not move the old lady from her apartment, the young couple decides to buy the duplex. When they move to their new home, their lives become a hell, due to the nasty Mrs. Connelly. "Duplex" is a very funny black comedy, directed by Danny DeVito, who is a specialist in this genre. Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore show a great chemistry, but Eileen Essel "steals the show" in the role of a sweet & nasty old lady. There are two plot points in the end of the story that I liked a lot. "Duplex" is not a masterpiece, but make the viewer, who likes black humor, laughs a lot and is a good entertainment. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Duplex"

In Danny De Vito's "Duplex," Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore play a young couple who buy a "dream apartment" in Brooklyn whose amenities include everything two upwardly mobile yuppies could possibly want: ample space, solid wood floors, three glorious fireplaces, and, above all, a quiet environment where Alex, a budding novelist, can spend his days writing in uninterrupted peace and quiet. Or so they think…for, unfortunately, the place also comes replete with what turns out to be the tenant from hell, a doddering old woman who lives on the second floor and who makes life miserable for the two of them with her continually blaring television and her constant intrusions into their daily lives. Finally driven to the breaking point, Alex and Nancy decide to take matters into their own hands in order to rid themselves of this human pest in any way they can.

"Duplex" is, essentially, a one-joke comedy and, as such, it does suffer from the occupational hazard common to all one-joke comedies of built-in repetitiousness. However, the writing has a surprisingly dark edge to it that lifts the film above the run-of-the-Hollywood-comedy-mill. I must confess to having a certain weakness for dotty old lady comedies, counting among my favorite films the original British classic "The Lady killers" from 1955. Eileen Essel is so delightful as the bete noire of the piece that it's hard not to fall under the spell of both her character and the film itself. De Vito, in a return to the black comedy form that served him so well in "The War of the Roses," keeps the comedy tough and brutal, even if it means bludgeoning the audience over the head a bit in the process. Stiller does his usual shtick as the put-upon Everyman, while Barrymore is able to use her customary cutesiness to full advantage as the sweet little ingénue driven to murder to save her own sanity.

"Duplex" is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, and I imagine that it would not win the stamp of approval from the AARP. Still, if you're in the market for something different in a mainstream comedy, "Duplex" just might fit the bill.