Surbubia can be quite boring and mundane. Many people moving into adulthood and settling down find the lack of excitement and adventure one of the most problematic parts of their existence.
People look forward to the day that something new is introduced to their lives so there is some sense of a break from the routine. In Keeping up with the Joneses, we see how the boring suburban lifestyle is seemingly disrupted with new neighbors moving onto their street. After much snooping and spying on the part of Jeff (Zack Galifianakis) and Karen Gaffney (Isla Fisher), they find themselves at the center of a case of international espionage. To their delight and dismay, the Gaffney’s are correct in their assumption that their neighbors Tim (Jon Hamm) and Natalie Jones (Gal Gadot) are two of the nation’s top spies seeking to find and disrupt and international arms deal that could result in missile guidance systems landing in the wrong hands.
The film is delightful. The humor and plot line do not take the audience’s intellect for granted. The jokes and development of the storyline are witty and well-thought. The movie and development will have audiences seeing this as a more comedic version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It has audiences thinking about what would be done by them in the same situations and relating to all of the characters. The more absurd moments that we typically see in spy movies is downplayed with the comedy allowing the audience to have fun and laugh at the faults of the characters and the way that they are able to cope with the situations they are placed in.
Keeping Up With the Jones is filled with laughs, a few twists, and the opportunity for suburban thrill seekers to live through these characters vicariously. It may also cause some of us to watch our neighbors a little more closely.
