Consumerism cannot get anymore subtle than this, and its unique premise is what made The Joneses stand out. Written and directed by Derrick Borte based upon the story by Randy T. Dinzler, The Joneses tells of the titular family of Steve (David Duchovny) and Kate (Demi Moore) together with their children Jenn (Amber Heard) and Mick (Ben Hollingsworth) living it up in suburban America, and being influencers in their respective peers in the way they consume goods and services. Hidden behind the scenes is the truth that this family isn't related by blood, and are banded together for one purpose only - sales.
A debut feature film by Borte, The Joneses boasts of a strong story that touches upon the greed and envy of humanity, where we are always trying to keep up with the neighbours, and the weakest amongst us will inevitably fall prey to debt. It takes us all on a powerful journey of telling deliberate lies for self-preservation and the essentiality of cheating one's fellow man to achieve targets at all costs, and at the betrayal of one's conscience. One of my most memorable films of last year, you can read my review of the film here.
The Region 3 DVD by Innoform Media presents the film in an anamorphic widescreen transfer that's free of obvious blemishes, with audio available in its original English soundtrack presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, not that it'll really max out your speakers and subwoofers in a film like this one. Subtitles are available in English and Mandarin, with scene selection over 16 chapters. It's quite unfortunate that this version is a bare bones edition, as I was looking forward to some extras included, which sadly there is none.
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