Keeping Up with the Joneses

There is something inherently suspicious about a cul-de-sac. It’s a geographical dead-end designed for observational paranoia, where the most exciting event of the week is usually a dispute over a property line or the arrival of a new Weber grill. In 2016’s Keeping Up with the Joneses, this suburban anxiety is cranked up to eleven when the Gaffneys—played with frantic, relatable energy by Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher—realize their impossibly chic new neighbors aren’t just better at interior design than them; they’re actually government operatives.

I watched this recently on a rainy Tuesday night while trying to ignore a stack of unwashed dishes that had started to develop their own ecosystem, and honestly, that’s the ideal way to consume this movie. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a high-end frozen pizza—you know it’s not a five-course meal, but it hits the spot when you just want something salty and easy to digest.

The Gorgeous People vs. The Rest of Us

The real engine of this film isn't the espionage plot; it’s the sheer physical absurdity of the casting. You have Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot as Tim and Natalie Jones. They are both so symmetrically perfect that they look like they were 3D-printed by a luxury car company. Seeing them stand next to Zach Galifianakis creates a visual gag that never really gets old. Hamm, coming off the heavy-duty drama of Mad Men, uses his "handsome guy" energy for great comedic effect, playing a spy who is actually kind of bored with being a spy. He just wants to blow glass and have a genuine friend, and he finds that in Galifianakis’s Jeff, a human resources professional who is basically a walking ball of earnest anxiety.

Isla Fisher, who I’ve loved since Wedding Crashers, is the MVP here. While Zach does his usual (but effective) "sweet weirdo" routine, Fisher brings a sharp, investigative franticness to Karen Gaffney. Her chemistry with Gal Gadot is surprisingly fun, especially during a scene in a lingerie dressing room where Gadot is acting like she’s trying to figure out how human elbows work while wearing something that costs more than my car. It was actually Gadot’s last major role before Wonder Woman catapulted her into another stratosphere, and you can see her leaning into that "statuesque outsider" vibe that worked so well for Diana Prince.

Spies, Stunts, and Suburban Stress

Director Greg Mottola, the man who gave us the legendary Superbad, brings a certain level of polish to the proceedings that elevates it above your standard "neighborhood comedy." The action sequences are surprisingly robust. There’s a car chase featuring a Mercedes and some motorcycles that feels punchier than it has any right to be. It’s not trying to be John Wick, but the stunts have a physical weight to them. Apparently, the production utilized a lot of the same stunt teams that work on the big Marvel projects filming in Atlanta, and it shows.

Speaking of Atlanta, the film is a total product of that mid-2010s "Hollywood of the South" boom. The entire cul-de-sac was a massive set built in a parking lot because they couldn't find a real neighborhood that allowed for that many explosions. It gives the film a slightly hyper-real, "uncanny valley" look that actually fits the theme of suburban artifice. One of my favorite details is Patton Oswalt's cameo as "The Scorpion." He’s a tech-villain living in a world of high-stakes arms dealing, but he’s still just a guy named Bruce. It’s that blend of the mundane and the extreme that defines the best parts of the script by Michael LeSieur.

The Cult of the "Cable TV Classic"

Despite the star power, Keeping Up with the Joneses absolutely tanked at the box office. It made less than $30 million against a $40 million budget. In the current era of "franchise or die," a mid-budget comedy like this is an endangered species. Nowadays, this would be a "straight-to-Netflix" weekend topper, but in 2016, it was a theatrical "flop." However, it has found a second life as a perennial background movie. It’s the kind of film you stop scrolling on when you find it halfway through on a cable channel or a streaming "Recommended" rail.

There’s some genuine trivia gold hidden in the production, too. For instance, Jon Hamm and Zach Galifianakis were actually real-life friends for years before this, often performing at the same comedy clubs in LA. That warmth between them feels real, which grounds the more ridiculous plot points. Also, Gal Gadot actually served as a combat instructor in the Israeli Defense Forces, so when she’s handling weapons in the film, she actually knows what she's doing—unlike the rest of the cast, who had to go through a "spy camp" to learn how to not look terrified of a Glock.

The film also features Matt Walsh (from Veep) and Maribeth Monroe, who turn the "boring neighbors" trope into an art form. The dinner party scene featuring "snake wine" is a particular highlight of cringe-comedy that reminded me why I don't go to dinner parties.

Keeping Up with the Joneses doesn't reinvent the wheel, nor does it try to. It’s a breezy, 105-minute diversion that succeeds because the cast is having a blast. It captures that specific 2016 moment where we were all a little bit obsessed with the "perfect" lives people were projecting on social media, reminding us that even the people who look like Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot probably have a basement full of secrets and a desperate need for a real friend. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a damn good time if you lower your shields and just enjoy the ride.