Movie Notes: The House Of Yes

November 28th, 2009

The House Of Yes

= 3 stars

Starring Parker Posey, Freddie Prinze Jr., Tori Spelling
Directed by Mark Waters

Synopsis

Marty (Josh Hamilton) brings his new fiance Lesly (Tori Spelling) home to meet mom (Genevieve Bujold). We soon learn his family is completely screwed up with shy Anthony (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and Jackie Kennedy obsessed psycho sister “Jackie-O” (Parker Posey).

The Good

Personally satisfying set-up: throw contrasting, strong, well-defined characters into an inventive situation and watch the sparks fly. The ones to watch are the inimitable Posey, sarcastic and cutting like a viper, and clueless, lamblike innocent Spelling. The males are only interesting as slack jawed observers to the mounting tension.
Several classic bits: “Let’s do something else. Let’s do mime.” “Marginal donut figure,” and the piano scene, where Jackie-O creams Lesly’s terrible rendition of Heart And Soul.

The Bad

Distasteful subject matter: insanity, Kennedy assassination satire, incest, and murder.
Based on a play, which means over-emphasis on dialogue, limited settings and characters, and unimaginative direction.

Conclusion

Despite the shock-for-shock’s sake subject matter and looking like a filmed play, worth a rental for Posey’s smoldering performance.

IMDB: The House Of Yes
Wikipedia: The House Of Yes
Rotten Tomatoes: The House Of Yes 62%